Entering the international market and exploring new opportunities for logistics development
On May 11th, the first South Asian international freight train in the country departed from Lanzhou. 10 days later, this freight train, loaded with "Made in China", will arrive in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, through railway and road transportation. This marks another important step for Lanzhou to open up to the west and south in the construction of the Belt and Road, after launching the Lanzhou freight train for Central Asia and Europe.
Over the past two years since the major strategic concept of the "the Belt and Road" was put forward, countries along the Belt and Road have responded in succession. Last year, China signed memorandums of understanding with more than 30 countries to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. Some major frameworks of the initiative have already begun to be built, such as the China Mongolia Russia Economic Corridor, the China Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor, the China Central Asia West Asia Corridor, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the Bangladesh China India Myanmar Economic Corridor. Some have achieved remarkable results. As for China and Europe, in the past, freight transportation between China and Europe mainly relied on air, sea, and road transportation, which had high costs and long shipping times. The China Europe freight train, with its characteristics of short distance, fast speed, high safety, as well as the advantages of safety, speed, environmental protection, and minimal impact on the natural environment, has become the backbone of land transportation in international logistics.
The prospect of international freight transportation is very broad, with extremely high cost-effectiveness. As is well known, in the past, our logistics trade to South Asia and Southeast Asia was mainly completed through sea transportation. The opening of the railway freight special train can be said to have opened up a way for land transportation, which will fully leverage the advantages of railway transportation. It can be imagined that in the future, the railway will drive economic trade, goods exchange, personnel flow, cultural exchange, and technological support between countries and cities, which will inevitably strengthen the "urban" effect between countries. The development pattern of the Belt and Road will also establish a cooperation system for common development among countries around the world through mutual assistance, mutual assistance, and progress. With the complementarity of technology and mutual assistance of resources, railways will also take steps in development and eventually pave a world railway transportation route map.
The Belt and Road Initiative has become a trend, and the opening of each international railway line brings a new round of development opportunities to countries and regions along the route. Various industries should embrace this new era with new development ideas and work together to create win-win situations. With the cooperation with South Asian railways, our railways are constantly upgrading and speeding up. We believe that the "South Asian International Freight Train" will become a "star product" of international freight in the "Belt and Road" strategy, and will also drive common economic development and benefit the people.