China-Europe rail trade undamaged by Beijing-Brussels tensions, posts record traffic via Xinjiang

Railway network between Europe and China saw a record number of freight train trips through Xinjiang in the first six months of the year

Rail line has prospered thanks to soaring sea freight costs and despite worsening relations between the European Union and China

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The China Railway Express between Europe and China is a key component of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:00pm, 7 Jul 2021Updated: 10:03pm, 7 Jul 2021

The China Railway Express has withstood rising tensions between the European Union and China to post record cargo traffic through Xinjiang in the first half of the year amid sky-high sea freight rates caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The railway network between Europe and China is a key component of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to link Asia, Europe and Africa with a network of ports, motorways and railways.

Some 6,090 trains passed through China’s two major inland ports in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in the first six months of the year, transporting about 6.57 million tonnes of goods in and out of China, according to local customs data cited by the official Xinjiang Daily.

Cargo trains entering Xinjiang via Khorgos, which borders Kazakhstan, rose 52.5 per cent from a year earlier to 3,057. They carried 4.29 million tonnes of goods, up 66.8 per cent from a year earlier.

The number of trains entering the country through Alataw Pass, another major rail hub on the Kazakhstan border, increased 41.1 per cent to 3,033 from a year earlier, with cargo volumes rising 56.1 per cent to 2.28 million tonnes of goods.

“The fundamental reason why the China Railway Express is booming is the strong complementarity between China and Europe’s industrial structures,” said Tian Yong, an analyst at Chinese logistics and supply chain analytics firm TUC Media, in a note on Saturday.

“The economic strategic value of the China Railway Express is embodied in the internal circulation of the Eurasia continent … connecting a huge population and a complete range of manufacturing sectors.”

The rail line has prospered despite worsening relations between Beijing and Brussels, which have come under growing strain this year over alleged human rights abuses against China’s ethnic Uygur Muslim minority group in Xinjiang.