The United States' persistence with its aggressive trade stance, characterized by threats and intimidation, does nothing to resolve the frictions with China. Instead, it risks eroding the foundation of bilateral trade relations.
\nEven though economic and trade teams from the two sides have engaged in four rounds of candid, in-depth negotiations in the past few months, the US still clings to the practice of saying one thing while doing another and continues to adopt coercive measures targeting China.
\nBeijing has consistently communicated its stance, intentions and actions through established channels, such as the bilateral export control dialogue mechanism. However, the US administration has continued to overstretch the concept of national security, imposing a seemingly never-ending series of discriminatory measures against China, leaving Beijing with no choice but to take countermeasures.
\nDespite saying the most recent economic and trade talks in Madrid in September "went well", the US has continued to introduce new restrictions intended to harm China's interests and the atmosphere of bilateral consultations. China was forced to respond when the US significantly expanded its export restrictions that month by placing the subsidiaries of already sanctioned companies from China and elsewhere under the same controls, increasing the number of Chinese companies facing the curbs from "around 3,000 to several thousand more", as CNN reported.
\nIn the latest tit-for-tat exchange, China has hit back with reciprocal countermeasures after the US put into effect additional port fees on China-linked ships in contravention of World Trade Organization rules and the principle of equality and mutual benefit outlined in the China-US Maritime Transport Agreement.
\nIn response, China will charge special port fees on US-linked vessels, effective on Tuesday, in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on International Ocean Shipping and other laws and regulations.
\nThe Ministry of Transport also announced the launch of a probe into how the US Section 301 investigation affects the security and development interests of its shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as well as related industries and supply chains, on Tuesday.
\nChina's moves are fully justified and legitimate measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries and enterprises, as Lyu Daliang, a spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs of China, rightly pointed out at a news briefing on Monday.
\nYet, despite the frictions, the Ministry of Commerce confirmed the two sides have continued to maintain close communication under the framework of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, with the latest working-level talks between Chinese and US officials held on Monday.
\nIt is high time Washington demonstrated sincerity in the negotiating process. Its current approach, characterized by negotiation on one hand and intimidation on the other, is not conducive to fostering healthy bilateral economic and trade ties.
\nGuided by the consensus reached during the recent telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries, the US administration should work with Beijing to safeguard the achievements of previous negotiations, and strive to utilize the Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism effectively.
\nAs Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said, the US intimidatory measures are not a productive way to engage with China. China's position remains consistent and clear: It is always open to dialogue, but it will resolutely defend its interests. The US side should reflect on the past economic and trade consultations, which have demonstrated that differences can be resolved through mutual respect and equal consultation.
\nThe global economy is interconnected, and the actions of the two largest economies will inevitably have far-reaching consequences. It is in the best interests not only of themselves but also the entire world, for China and the US to find a path forward that prioritizes cooperation over conflict.
\nTo promote the sustainable development of Sino-US trade relations, both sides should address the respective concerns of the other through dialogue. They should leverage the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism to resolve their differences and promote a stable, sound, and sustainable trajectory for bilateral ties. That requires the US side to demonstrate respect and sincerity. Only through such an approach can the two countries hope to resolve their trade frictions and contribute positively to global economic stability.
\n", - "content": "The United States' persistence with its aggressive trade stance, characterized by threats and intimidation, does nothing to resolve the frictions with China. Instead, it risks eroding the foundation of bilateral trade relations.
\nEven though economic and trade teams from the two sides have engaged in four rounds of candid, in-depth negotiations in the past few months, the US still clings to the practice of saying one thing while doing another and continues to adopt coercive measures targeting China.
\nBeijing has consistently communicated its stance, intentions and actions through established channels, such as the bilateral export control dialogue mechanism. However, the US administration has continued to overstretch the concept of national security, imposing a seemingly never-ending series of discriminatory measures against China, leaving Beijing with no choice but to take countermeasures.
\nDespite saying the most recent economic and trade talks in Madrid in September "went well", the US has continued to introduce new restrictions intended to harm China's interests and the atmosphere of bilateral consultations. China was forced to respond when the US significantly expanded its export restrictions that month by placing the subsidiaries of already sanctioned companies from China and elsewhere under the same controls, increasing the number of Chinese companies facing the curbs from "around 3,000 to several thousand more", as CNN reported.
\nIn the latest tit-for-tat exchange, China has hit back with reciprocal countermeasures after the US put into effect additional port fees on China-linked ships in contravention of World Trade Organization rules and the principle of equality and mutual benefit outlined in the China-US Maritime Transport Agreement.
\nIn response, China will charge special port fees on US-linked vessels, effective on Tuesday, in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on International Ocean Shipping and other laws and regulations.
\nThe Ministry of Transport also announced the launch of a probe into how the US Section 301 investigation affects the security and development interests of its shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as well as related industries and supply chains, on Tuesday.
\nChina's moves are fully justified and legitimate measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries and enterprises, as Lyu Daliang, a spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs of China, rightly pointed out at a news briefing on Monday.
\nYet, despite the frictions, the Ministry of Commerce confirmed the two sides have continued to maintain close communication under the framework of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, with the latest working-level talks between Chinese and US officials held on Monday.
\nIt is high time Washington demonstrated sincerity in the negotiating process. Its current approach, characterized by negotiation on one hand and intimidation on the other, is not conducive to fostering healthy bilateral economic and trade ties.
\nGuided by the consensus reached during the recent telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries, the US administration should work with Beijing to safeguard the achievements of previous negotiations, and strive to utilize the Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism effectively.
\nAs Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said, the US intimidatory measures are not a productive way to engage with China. China's position remains consistent and clear: It is always open to dialogue, but it will resolutely defend its interests. The US side should reflect on the past economic and trade consultations, which have demonstrated that differences can be resolved through mutual respect and equal consultation.
\nThe global economy is interconnected, and the actions of the two largest economies will inevitably have far-reaching consequences. It is in the best interests not only of themselves but also the entire world, for China and the US to find a path forward that prioritizes cooperation over conflict.
\nTo promote the sustainable development of Sino-US trade relations, both sides should address the respective concerns of the other through dialogue. They should leverage the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism to resolve their differences and promote a stable, sound, and sustainable trajectory for bilateral ties. That requires the US side to demonstrate respect and sincerity. Only through such an approach can the two countries hope to resolve their trade frictions and contribute positively to global economic stability.
\n", - "category": "", - "link": "https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/html5/2025-10/15/content_008_68eec361ed50ccabe151b209.htm#008COMMENT", - "creator": "", - "pubDate": "Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:21:04 +0000", - "enclosure": "", - "enclosureType": "", - "image": "", - "id": "", - "language": "", - "folder": "双语", - "feed": "ChinaDaily", - "read": false, - "favorite": false, - "created": false, - "tags": [], - "hash": "b976938a7b5ec1a673dccdf93a3f8560", - "highlights": [] - }, { "title": "012WORLD - A bitter harvest for California vintners", "description": "![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-15/012/20251015_012_01_15424.png\")
Grass overtakes an abandoned vineyard in northern California during the 2025 harvest season. Grapevines with yellowed, withered leaves remain unpicked as wine growers face mounting pressures from oversupply, rising costs and tariffs.
\n![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-15/012/20251015_012_01_40424.png\")
\nFrom the sprawling vineyards of the Central Valley to the prestigious hillsides of Napa Valley, California's wine growers are facing a troubling harvest season.
\nRows of unpicked grapes shrivel under the autumn sun, their leaves yellowed and curled. Once-neatly trimmed vines droop under the weight of fruit clusters. In some areas, bulldozers plow through what were productive vineyards just months ago, ripping decades-old rootstock from the soil.
\nThe abandoned vineyards reveal growing pressures on an industry that has helped shape California's agricultural economy and international reputation.
\n"It is sad. A lot of people's identity is tied up in their family farm, and there's a real challenge right now that is making it difficult," Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, told China Daily.
\n"Most of them are family farms. They're getting out of the business," Spencer said. "They're either putting the property up for sale or looking to lease the ground to somebody else." His organization represents winegrowers and winemakers in Lodi, a major wine-producing region in California's Central Valley.
\nGrowers are in the midst of a harvest that started in early September and runs through late October. Despite favorable crop conditions and a good growing season, this year's harvest will be the smallest in decades because many grapes have gone unsold and won't be picked.
\nSpencer described the situation as "a crisis" that has gripped the Central Valley for two years, with this year the worst yet. "It's widespread across California," he said.
\nOver the past two years, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 tons of California wine grapes — enough to fill 500 million to 650 million bottles — were left rotting on the vine because growers couldn't find buyers, according to Spencer.
\nThe crisis has hit independent growers particularly hard. Nearly 80 percent of California wine grapes are grown by independent farmers, and in the Central Valley, more than 90 percent of growers operate independently, Spencer said.
\nMany independent growers have abandoned their vineyards rather than face a difficult choice: walk away and lose their investment or farm all year only to lose money at harvest, said Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers.
\n"It's a losing situation all the way around," Bitter told China Daily.
\n"It has happened before, but this is the worst I've ever seen it, and I've been doing this for almost 30 years," said Bitter, a fourth-generation grape grower in Madera County.
\nBoth Bitter and Spencer point to multiple factors driving the crisis, including oversupply of wine, weakening consumer demand, and rising costs from inflation and labor shortages. But tariffs and trade policies have compounded these challenges, putting California producers at a disadvantage against heavily subsidized competitors in Europe.
\nTrade disadvantages
\n"The trade issues have affected demand for California wine globally," Spencer said. "Part of it is an anti-American attitude. That's what's going on in Canada. On the supply chain side of things, there are a lot of pressures."
\nEarlier this year, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum shipped to the United States. In response, the Canadian government announced a 25 percent tariff in March on US wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, prompting most Canadian distributors to pull American wines from shelves and cancel orders.
\nAfter nearly six months of negotiations, Canada lifted the retaliatory tariff effective Sept 1, but most Canadian provinces have not returned American wines to store shelves, keeping California producers shut out of their largest export market.
\n"Exports are horrible because of the tariffs," said Scott Meadows, CEO of Maxville Winery in Napa Valley, who has more than 20 years of experience in winemaking and management. "No one's exporting the volumes that we used to."
\n"Canada was the top export market for all Napa wines, and that's been shut off completely thanks to the tariffs," Meadows said. "So we're not sending it all to Canada, and it's really hurting us."
\nFor California wineries, the damage from retaliatory tariffs represents only part of the fallout. The tariffs have driven up costs for key imports needed for wine production, including glass bottles largely sourced from China and Mexico, corks and barrels from Europe, and labels and packaging materials from around the world.
\n"Tariffs are a real problem," Meadows told China Daily. "If we buy some equipment, for example, a forklift, one of the most important pieces of equipment that a winery has, the parts are mostly made in foreign countries."
\n"When a forklift breaks down and you need a part, it used to cost maybe $300 to fix it. Now it might cost $600 or $800 because the tariffs have bumped up all those prices. So we've definitely felt that," he said.
\nTariffs have also driven up expenses for everything from tractors to production equipment throughout their estate. "So long term, that's going to hurt us. Because as we start to go through the harvest and figure out what our costs are at the end of the year, that's certainly going to impact our wine," said Meadows.
\nThere is always interest in the Chinese market, but trade-related issues have made it more challenging to develop that market, said Spencer.
\nHe pointed to tariffs imposed on US wines entering China as countermeasures against US tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018 during Trump's first term. The trade disputes led to a combined tax rate exceeding 90 percent for US wines.
\n"I think everyone on the business side wants consistency, like developing an export market in China," he said. "We have vendors in Asia now looking at doing business there. But I think the opportunities have been less in recent years because of the up-and-down trade relations."
\nBitter urged the Trump administration to carefully administer tariff and trade policies to avoid exposing the US wine industry to global discrimination.
\nThe constant policy shifts have created an environment of uncertainty that makes long-term planning difficult, Bitter said.
\nliazhu@chinadailyusa.com
\n", @@ -10046,28 +10046,6 @@ "hash": "94ce9ce8277059c63f310de3c056db07", "highlights": [] }, - { - "title": "019SPORTS - Going global: NBA closes in on new All-Star format", - "description": "![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-15/019/20251015_019_01_13295.png\")
Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam attempts to defend as Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs rebounds the ball during an NBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday.
\n![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-15/019/20251015_019_01_57295.png\")
\nImagine this lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, all on the floor at the same time as teammates.
\nMVPs. Scoring champions. NBA champions. Triple-double machines. Defensive wizards. International players, all together in one highly decorated, incredibly accomplished, flat-out-scary lineup, the likes of which probably has not been seen too many times in basketball history.
\nThe NBA seems on the brink of making it possible.
\nChanges to the All-Star format are most certainly coming, once again, and the plan that the NBA has settled on is one that has players from the United States going up against players from the rest of the world in a tournament setting. Think Ryder Cup golf or 4 Nations Face-Off hockey, and it just so happens that this season's All-Star weekend at Inglewood, California, is smack in the middle of another national-pride sporting event — the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.
\n"I talk to a lot of fans, and All-Star Games for whatever reason take on particular interest around basketball," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "I think we should be able to create something that's fun, exciting, engaging. Not expecting guys to play the way they would in the finals necessarily, or even in a playoff game, but yet to go out, play hard, put on a good show for the fans."
\nThe plan, which isn't yet finalized, calls for a three-team tournament: two American teams and one international team, all with eight-man rosters. The reason: Roughly two-thirds of NBA players are from the US and one-third are not, which is why the NBA thinks it would be fair to give the US two-thirds of the roster spots.
\n"Hopefully, it's going to be better," said Jokic, the Denver star.
\nIt has become almost an annual exercise for the NBA: fixing the All-Star Game. Silver and other league officials — and to be fair, some players as well — desperately want the product to be better and more competitive. They tried having captains like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Antetokounmpo pick the teams for a few years, and not much changed. They tried going back to the standard Eastern Conference vs Western Conference format, and it wasn't great either. Having a final score of 211-186 in Indianapolis in 2024 was the last straw in many respects, so the NBA last year tried a mini-tournament on for size, and few people cared for it.
\nGolden State's Stephen Curry was MVP of that All-Star event, a four-teams-of-eight competition that had a 41-25 final score in the title match-up and saw the final game stopped for about 20 minutes for a tribute to TNT and its run as a league broadcaster.
\n"I honestly thought last year went great until it dragged on for a long time," Curry said. "We all know that All-Star has changed over the years, but there has to be some type of solution for keeping the players fresh and loose, and keeping the action going. Last year it came to a screeching halt. But whatever the format is, I know we're going to keep taking swings at the plate to figure it out, and that's what the league is supposed to do."
\nInternational players have said they love the idea of a US vs The World concept. Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee star, has talked about it previously, and playfully said that the league should give him credit for the idea.
\n"The NBA's going to take all the credit. But I love it, man," Antetokounmpo said.
\n"I think it's going to be exciting for people to watch. I'm going to play hard. I've always been playing hard, but I think it's going to put a little bit more juice to the game. All players have ego. Nobody wants to be embarrassed. Guys will play harder because they don't want to become — I don't know how you say this — they don't want to become viral. I'm excited for this format."
\nThe league has been working on the plan for a few months, and Silver has said he hopes that it can be formally announced by the start of the season, which begins Oct 21.
\n"The World vs US? We'll see how it goes. I think it's interesting," said Detroit's Cade Cunningham, who was a first-time All-Star last season. "Me, personally, I wanted to play in the East vs West game, but I think I will have my opportunity to do that one day. Playing for the US, I know we're going to be playing hard. I think it will be good."
\nGilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP and scoring champion at NBA title holder Oklahoma City Thunder, knows the league wants a more competitive All-Star event. He isn't sure if the format is a reason why someone would play hard or not.
\nLike everyone else, he's interested to see how it plays out.
\n"Guys that make it are grown men, and they're going to compete if they want to, or not compete if they don't want to. And I think that's what it's going to come down to," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So, the change in the format, it's good, it's fun. It keeps the fans engaged. It could be interesting. It's what the league is supposed to do. They do a great job of that. But, I think it's just going to come down to if the players want to play or not."
\n", - "content": "Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam attempts to defend as Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs rebounds the ball during an NBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday.
\n\nImagine this lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, all on the floor at the same time as teammates.
\nMVPs. Scoring champions. NBA champions. Triple-double machines. Defensive wizards. International players, all together in one highly decorated, incredibly accomplished, flat-out-scary lineup, the likes of which probably has not been seen too many times in basketball history.
\nThe NBA seems on the brink of making it possible.
\nChanges to the All-Star format are most certainly coming, once again, and the plan that the NBA has settled on is one that has players from the United States going up against players from the rest of the world in a tournament setting. Think Ryder Cup golf or 4 Nations Face-Off hockey, and it just so happens that this season's All-Star weekend at Inglewood, California, is smack in the middle of another national-pride sporting event — the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.
\n"I talk to a lot of fans, and All-Star Games for whatever reason take on particular interest around basketball," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "I think we should be able to create something that's fun, exciting, engaging. Not expecting guys to play the way they would in the finals necessarily, or even in a playoff game, but yet to go out, play hard, put on a good show for the fans."
\nThe plan, which isn't yet finalized, calls for a three-team tournament: two American teams and one international team, all with eight-man rosters. The reason: Roughly two-thirds of NBA players are from the US and one-third are not, which is why the NBA thinks it would be fair to give the US two-thirds of the roster spots.
\n"Hopefully, it's going to be better," said Jokic, the Denver star.
\nIt has become almost an annual exercise for the NBA: fixing the All-Star Game. Silver and other league officials — and to be fair, some players as well — desperately want the product to be better and more competitive. They tried having captains like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Antetokounmpo pick the teams for a few years, and not much changed. They tried going back to the standard Eastern Conference vs Western Conference format, and it wasn't great either. Having a final score of 211-186 in Indianapolis in 2024 was the last straw in many respects, so the NBA last year tried a mini-tournament on for size, and few people cared for it.
\nGolden State's Stephen Curry was MVP of that All-Star event, a four-teams-of-eight competition that had a 41-25 final score in the title match-up and saw the final game stopped for about 20 minutes for a tribute to TNT and its run as a league broadcaster.
\n"I honestly thought last year went great until it dragged on for a long time," Curry said. "We all know that All-Star has changed over the years, but there has to be some type of solution for keeping the players fresh and loose, and keeping the action going. Last year it came to a screeching halt. But whatever the format is, I know we're going to keep taking swings at the plate to figure it out, and that's what the league is supposed to do."
\nInternational players have said they love the idea of a US vs The World concept. Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee star, has talked about it previously, and playfully said that the league should give him credit for the idea.
\n"The NBA's going to take all the credit. But I love it, man," Antetokounmpo said.
\n"I think it's going to be exciting for people to watch. I'm going to play hard. I've always been playing hard, but I think it's going to put a little bit more juice to the game. All players have ego. Nobody wants to be embarrassed. Guys will play harder because they don't want to become — I don't know how you say this — they don't want to become viral. I'm excited for this format."
\nThe league has been working on the plan for a few months, and Silver has said he hopes that it can be formally announced by the start of the season, which begins Oct 21.
\n"The World vs US? We'll see how it goes. I think it's interesting," said Detroit's Cade Cunningham, who was a first-time All-Star last season. "Me, personally, I wanted to play in the East vs West game, but I think I will have my opportunity to do that one day. Playing for the US, I know we're going to be playing hard. I think it will be good."
\nGilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP and scoring champion at NBA title holder Oklahoma City Thunder, knows the league wants a more competitive All-Star event. He isn't sure if the format is a reason why someone would play hard or not.
\nLike everyone else, he's interested to see how it plays out.
\n"Guys that make it are grown men, and they're going to compete if they want to, or not compete if they don't want to. And I think that's what it's going to come down to," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "So, the change in the format, it's good, it's fun. It keeps the fans engaged. It could be interesting. It's what the league is supposed to do. They do a great job of that. But, I think it's just going to come down to if the players want to play or not."
\n", - "category": "", - "link": "https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/html5/2025-10/15/content_019_68eec3feed50ccabe151b22e.htm#019SPORTS", - "creator": "", - "pubDate": "Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:21:04 +0000", - "enclosure": "", - "enclosureType": "", - "image": "", - "id": "", - "language": "", - "folder": "双语", - "feed": "ChinaDaily", - "read": false, - "favorite": false, - "created": false, - "tags": [], - "hash": "ab185a4c180b8d6b9e2b69f794ae1283", - "highlights": [] - }, { "title": "007CHINA - Rail reliability delivers steady success", "description": "![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-14/007/20251014_007_01_39.png\")
Containers for the China-Europe Railway Express service are hoisted in Tongjiang, Heilongjiang province, on July 25. The station, near the China-Russia border, serves as a transfer hub for trains of different gauges in China and Russia.
\n![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-14/007/20251014_007_01_16.png\")
The 110,000th train of the China-Europe Railway Express service departs from Qingdao, Shandong province, in June.
\n![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-14/007/20251014_007_01_30.png\")
Trains carrying automobiles await departure in Chongqing in September.
\n![](\"https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/resfile/2025-10-14/007/20251014_007_01_23.png\")
A forklift operator moves a container on the China-Europe Railway Express service in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, in August.
\nThe multiple shock waves that hit global shipping in 2021 forced Shandong Linglong Tire, one of China's largest tire manufacturers and exporters, to reexamine its logistics.
\nA solution was quickly found in the China-Europe freight train network, a vital trade artery connecting manufacturing centers in China with markets in Central Asia and Europe.
\n"Sea transportation was so unstable," said Pan Wenfeng, head of Linglong's inland logistics department. "Prices skyrocketed and space was difficult to book. That gave us an opportunity to cooperate with the China-Europe Railway Express."
\nWhat began as a stopgap measure has since matured into a long-term and stable partnership.
\n"For overseas market expansion, sea transport is slow, with long delivery cycles that cannot ensure supply chain stability for our overseas production bases," Pan said.
\n"For critical raw materials and equipment where time efficiency matters, we now choose the China-Europe freight train. The train offers speed, lower costs and customized services. By using the rail service, our key raw materials and machinery arrive swiftly at overseas plants. Transit times are 50 percent faster than sea transport, greatly improving cash flow, reducing logistics costs and enhancing our global competitiveness."
\nHeadquartered in Zhaoyuan in East China's Shandong province, Linglong has invested heavily abroad, with plants in Thailand and Serbia — the latter marking China's first tire factory in Europe.
\nAround 10 percent of Linglong's exports move via China-Europe freight trains.
\nThough sea freight still dominates its logistics, rail transport has become a strategic supplement, supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, boosting China's opening-up, and helping secure stable supply chains in an uncertain global environment.
\nDecade of expansion
\nFrom making just a handful of trips in 2011, the year of the network's launch, the China-Europe Railway Express has grown to handling 19,000 round trips in 2024, 10 percent up on the year prior, transporting over 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, according to Xinhua News Agency.
\nIn total, as of July, it's estimated that the service had completed more than 110,000 round trips, carrying goods worth over $450 billion.
\nThe network has grown to cover nearly the entire Eurasian landmass. Inside China, three main routes — the western, central and eastern — attract cargo from different regions.
\nBeyond China's borders, three corresponding corridors stretch into Europe. Recent years have seen successful trial operations of the southern corridor, opening new gateways to the continent. Close coordination with foreign railway companies has expanded and diversified these international routes, creating a transcontinental network that is efficient, extends in multiple directions, and connects land and sea transport.
\nA total of 128 Chinese cities run freight trains to 229 cities in 26 European countries, and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. Customs procedures have also been streamlined. With the rollout of the "95306 System" digital platform, customs clearance that once took half a day now takes less than 30 minutes on average.
\nThere are 14 regional consolidation hubs inside China that channel goods into outbound trains, ensuring smoother distribution. Cargo from different regions is gathered at these hubs and organized before being shipped to Europe. Nearly nine out of 10 China-Europe freight trains are assembled and dispatched through these hubs nationwide.
\nIn the early years, there was a significant trade imbalance flowing east to west, with many empty containers on the return journey.
\nTo address this, China Railway Container Transport, a State-owned logistics operator, established subsidiaries in Kazakhstan, Germany and Russia to forge closer partnerships with local railways, ports and logistics companies.
\nThis deeper integration has gradually created a more balanced two-way flow, reducing empty runs and boosting overall efficiency.
\nA growing number of European exports, ranging from machinery and pharmaceuticals to luxury goods, are now heading east on trains that once returned half-empty.
\nThis has contributed to lower costs for Chinese exporters and more reliable schedules, as the network no longer bears the inefficiencies of empty backhauls.
\nTransportation hubs, such as Xiamen in Fujian province, have felt this transformation.
\n"The China-Europe trains from Xiamen not only carry Chinese products abroad but bring back foreign goods into China," said Wu Wei, marketing manager at Xiamen International Logistics Port.
\nIn recent years, the logistics port has received Belgian chocolates, Belarusian beef jerky, Polish yogurt, and cosmetics such as face masks and eye creams.
\nChina and beyond
\nIn Shandong, the first cold-chain train departed from Jiaozhou in May 2021. Since, the specialized service for perishable goods has expanded, with regular trains running from Qingdao, Jinan and Zibo, carrying fresh vegetables, seafood and frozen products to European markets.
\n"The growth has been transformative in the past decade," said Shang Mingzhu, a manager at the Jinan branch of China Railway Container Transport. "Cold-chain trains, designed to match Shandong's strengths in fresh produce and seafood, support Shandong products going global."
\nAcross inland hubs, from Xi'an in Shaanxi province to Chengdu in Sichuan province, local governments and logistics providers are leveraging the railway to connect their industries to global supply chains.
\nFor exporters of high-value goods, from electronics to auto parts, the railway has become a reliable bridge to European markets.
\nEuropean partners are equally enthusiastic. "The China-Europe Railway Express provides customers with stable and fast transportation services," said Alona Toprak, managing director of DB Cargo Eurasia, a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Bahn, specializing in cross-border rail logistics for China, Central Asia and Europe.
\n"Many high-quality products are transported between Europe and China via the service. Now, with more frequent departures, our cooperation has expanded from traditional manufacturing to green energy, new energy vehicles and cross-border e-commerce, further facilitating consumer markets," she said.
\nChinese goods, including consumer electronics, home appliances and daily-use products, can reach Europe faster and at better prices. At the same time, specialty products from Europe and other parts of Asia, such as Spanish wine, Dutch cheese, Polish apples, Thai durian and Laotian bananas, are increasingly available to Chinese consumers. This has created bigger markets and improved people's daily lives along the route.
\nThe railway's rapid growth has also boosted industry, trade and investment. Railways, freight companies and logistics providers along the route are earning more stable income, while local people have gained jobs. Major cities served by the trains, including Lodz in Poland, Duisburg in Germany, and Madrid in Spain, have modernized their infrastructure, helping related industries grow quickly.
\nIn June, the 110,000th train departed from Qingdao, Shandong province, carrying 55 containers of LCD displays and refrigerators worth 20 million yuan ($2.75 million) on a three-week journey to Moscow.
\nFor Gao Yitian, head of the Jiaozhou branch of Jinan Railway Logistics Center, the milestone was another ticked off on his 25-year career in the railway industry. Gao began handling international trains in 2016, when services were still in their infancy.
\n"At the start, we were unfamiliar with the processes. Customs checks and documentation were slow. Sometimes we couldn't even gather enough cargo for one train in two weeks," Gao said.
\n"Now, the systems are optimized, efficiency has soared and trains depart daily.
\n"In 2016, cargo mainly consisted of clothing and footwear. Today, shipments range from home appliances to high-end manufacturing equipment. The trains now run at 120 kilometers per hour, up from 80 km/h a decade ago," he said.
\nInnovation and growth
\nA recent development has been the introduction of set-scheduled China-Europe freight trains. A total of 17 set-scheduled trains run a week, with transit times cut by more than 30 percent compared with regular China-Europe freight train services. Unlike regular cargo carriers, the trains adhere to a set schedule along the entire route, further reducing transport time and also allowing customers to accurately calculate journey times between cities.
\nBeyond bulk goods and consumer staples, specialized services cater to cross-border e-commerce, cold-chain food, postal shipments and automobiles. The range of goods has broadened to over 50 categories and 50,000 products, with three types of goods in particular — auto parts, machinery and electronics — making up more than 60 percent of exports last year.
\nNew industries are also benefiting from the China-Europe Railway Express. Rail operators have addressed safety challenges in transporting new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels, allowing these high-value exports to reach global markets more efficiently and reliably.
\nA China-Europe service center and a dedicated online portal offer one-stop platforms for contracts, customs, insurance, cargo tracking and smart containers with real-time monitoring. Overseas, 131 container depots in 17 countries provide convenient pickup and return options across most rail-linked cities.
\nluowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn
\n", @@ -10090,28 +10068,6 @@ "hash": "6478d897edd1b1cabdcdf481db25fb3f", "highlights": [] }, - { - "title": "011WORLD - Trump's talk of 'natural conflict' in Canada trade queried", - "description": "A claim by United States President Donald Trump that the US and Canada have a "natural conflict" in trade may overstate competition and overlook the economic integration between the two countries, experts say.
\nDuring a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Oct 7, Trump said there is a natural conflict in the bilateral trade relationship.
\nMesbah Sharaf, an economics professor at the University of Alberta, said Trump was probably referring to the fact that the two economies produce and export many of the same goods.
\n"This overlap creates competition rather than full complementarity," Sharaf said.
\nThe most visible areas of competition, he said, include energy, automobiles, steel and aluminum, and softwood.
\n"Both countries seek to protect jobs and industries that serve similar markets, which naturally creates conflict, even though the overall relationship remains strong and deeply integrated."
\nTrump's protectionist trade agenda, which "relies heavily on tariffs", puts long-term pressure on Canadian industries that compete directly with US producers, such as auto parts, lumber and metals, he said.
\n"Even without new tariffs, the uncertainty around US trade policy would discourage Canadian investment and push companies to diversify away from the US market."
\nOn the prospects for a new trade pact, Sharaf was cautious.
\n"Reaching a new trade agreement between the US and Canada is unlikely in the near future. The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement already sets the trade framework, and the US doesn't seem eager to reopen big trade talks.
\n"What's more realistic are smaller updates — focused on electric vehicles, clean energy or digital trade — rather than a brand-new broad agreement."
\nRon Stagg, a history professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the notion of a natural conflict between the US and Canada in trade is "an overly simplistic belief" that overlooks the depth of economic integration between the two countries.
\n'Tough situation'
\nDuring his meeting with Carney, Trump cited the auto industry as an example, saying: "It's a tough situation because we want to make our cars here. At the same time, we want Canada to do well making cars. So we're working on formulas, and I think we'll get there."
\nThe following day, at the US-Canada Summit in Toronto, the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US could continue buying auto parts from Canada, "but that's about it". Canada should "come second" to the US in the auto sector, and there was no possibility of any auto deal between the two countries, he said.
\nHowever, Stagg said the auto industry is far more interlinked than Trump and Lutnick suggest.
\n"Canada produces some models not made in the US, vehicles are partially assembled in all three US-Mexico-Canada Agreement countries, and the auto parts suppliers are in all three countries.
\n"Canada also produces some specialty steel products that the US either does not produce or cannot produce in sufficient quantities."
\nSimilarly, while the US forestry industry lobbies hard against its Canadian counterpart, Stagg said, the reality is that the US cannot supply enough of the specific types of wood that the construction industry needs.
\n"So to say that there is competition is true only to a certain extent, but that is how the Trump administration sees the situation."
\nThe industries in question "will continue to face tariffs", he said, adding that "the hope is to negotiate lower ones than now exist".
\ngaoyang@chinadailyusa.com
\n", - "content": "A claim by United States President Donald Trump that the US and Canada have a "natural conflict" in trade may overstate competition and overlook the economic integration between the two countries, experts say.
\nDuring a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Oct 7, Trump said there is a natural conflict in the bilateral trade relationship.
\nMesbah Sharaf, an economics professor at the University of Alberta, said Trump was probably referring to the fact that the two economies produce and export many of the same goods.
\n"This overlap creates competition rather than full complementarity," Sharaf said.
\nThe most visible areas of competition, he said, include energy, automobiles, steel and aluminum, and softwood.
\n"Both countries seek to protect jobs and industries that serve similar markets, which naturally creates conflict, even though the overall relationship remains strong and deeply integrated."
\nTrump's protectionist trade agenda, which "relies heavily on tariffs", puts long-term pressure on Canadian industries that compete directly with US producers, such as auto parts, lumber and metals, he said.
\n"Even without new tariffs, the uncertainty around US trade policy would discourage Canadian investment and push companies to diversify away from the US market."
\nOn the prospects for a new trade pact, Sharaf was cautious.
\n"Reaching a new trade agreement between the US and Canada is unlikely in the near future. The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement already sets the trade framework, and the US doesn't seem eager to reopen big trade talks.
\n"What's more realistic are smaller updates — focused on electric vehicles, clean energy or digital trade — rather than a brand-new broad agreement."
\nRon Stagg, a history professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the notion of a natural conflict between the US and Canada in trade is "an overly simplistic belief" that overlooks the depth of economic integration between the two countries.
\n'Tough situation'
\nDuring his meeting with Carney, Trump cited the auto industry as an example, saying: "It's a tough situation because we want to make our cars here. At the same time, we want Canada to do well making cars. So we're working on formulas, and I think we'll get there."
\nThe following day, at the US-Canada Summit in Toronto, the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US could continue buying auto parts from Canada, "but that's about it". Canada should "come second" to the US in the auto sector, and there was no possibility of any auto deal between the two countries, he said.
\nHowever, Stagg said the auto industry is far more interlinked than Trump and Lutnick suggest.
\n"Canada produces some models not made in the US, vehicles are partially assembled in all three US-Mexico-Canada Agreement countries, and the auto parts suppliers are in all three countries.
\n"Canada also produces some specialty steel products that the US either does not produce or cannot produce in sufficient quantities."
\nSimilarly, while the US forestry industry lobbies hard against its Canadian counterpart, Stagg said, the reality is that the US cannot supply enough of the specific types of wood that the construction industry needs.
\n"So to say that there is competition is true only to a certain extent, but that is how the Trump administration sees the situation."
\nThe industries in question "will continue to face tariffs", he said, adding that "the hope is to negotiate lower ones than now exist".
\ngaoyang@chinadailyusa.com
\n", - "category": "", - "link": "https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/html5/2025-10/14/content_011_68ed60baed50ccabe151b148.htm#011WORLD", - "creator": "", - "pubDate": "Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:21:04 +0000", - "enclosure": "", - "enclosureType": "", - "image": "", - "id": "", - "language": "", - "folder": "双语", - "feed": "ChinaDaily", - "read": false, - "favorite": false, - "created": false, - "tags": [], - "hash": "9757937543257fc55fad0e9d63716843", - "highlights": [] - }, { "title": "247个Python经典有趣实例，代码齐全可复制，PDF版拿走即用！", "description": "对于大部分Python学习者来说，基础核心知识基本已经掌握了，但\"纸上得来终觉浅,绝知此事要躬行\"，要想完全掌", @@ -12413,28 +12369,6 @@ "hash": "5f74af3509bb7119b65229e9a44505ee", "highlights": [] }, - { - "title": "012WORLD - A bitter harvest for California vintners", - "description": "Grass overtakes an abandoned vineyard in northern California during the 2025 harvest season. Grapevines with yellowed, withered leaves remain unpicked as wine growers face mounting pressures from oversupply, rising costs and tariffs.
\n\nFrom the sprawling vineyards of the Central Valley to the prestigious hillsides of Napa Valley, California's wine growers are facing a troubling harvest season.
\nRows of unpicked grapes shrivel under the autumn sun, their leaves yellowed and curled. Once-neatly trimmed vines droop under the weight of fruit clusters. In some areas, bulldozers plow through what were productive vineyards just months ago, ripping decades-old rootstock from the soil.
\nThe abandoned vineyards reveal growing pressures on an industry that has helped shape California's agricultural economy and international reputation.
\n"It is sad. A lot of people's identity is tied up in their family farm, and there's a real challenge right now that is making it difficult," Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, told China Daily.
\n"Most of them are family farms. They're getting out of the business," Spencer said. "They're either putting the property up for sale or looking to lease the ground to somebody else." His organization represents winegrowers and winemakers in Lodi, a major wine-producing region in California's Central Valley.
\nGrowers are in the midst of a harvest that started in early September and runs through late October. Despite favorable crop conditions and a good growing season, this year's harvest will be the smallest in decades because many grapes have gone unsold and won't be picked.
\nSpencer described the situation as "a crisis" that has gripped the Central Valley for two years, with this year the worst yet. "It's widespread across California," he said.
\nOver the past two years, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 tons of California wine grapes — enough to fill 500 million to 650 million bottles — were left rotting on the vine because growers couldn't find buyers, according to Spencer.
\nThe crisis has hit independent growers particularly hard. Nearly 80 percent of California wine grapes are grown by independent farmers, and in the Central Valley, more than 90 percent of growers operate independently, Spencer said.
\nMany independent growers have abandoned their vineyards rather than face a difficult choice: walk away and lose their investment or farm all year only to lose money at harvest, said Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers.
\n"It's a losing situation all the way around," Bitter told China Daily.
\n"It has happened before, but this is the worst I've ever seen it, and I've been doing this for almost 30 years," said Bitter, a fourth-generation grape grower in Madera County.
\nBoth Bitter and Spencer point to multiple factors driving the crisis, including oversupply of wine, weakening consumer demand, and rising costs from inflation and labor shortages. But tariffs and trade policies have compounded these challenges, putting California producers at a disadvantage against heavily subsidized competitors in Europe.
\nTrade disadvantages
\n"The trade issues have affected demand for California wine globally," Spencer said. "Part of it is an anti-American attitude. That's what's going on in Canada. On the supply chain side of things, there are a lot of pressures."
\nEarlier this year, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum shipped to the United States. In response, the Canadian government announced a 25 percent tariff in March on US wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, prompting most Canadian distributors to pull American wines from shelves and cancel orders.
\nAfter nearly six months of negotiations, Canada lifted the retaliatory tariff effective Sept 1, but most Canadian provinces have not returned American wines to store shelves, keeping California producers shut out of their largest export market.
\n"Exports are horrible because of the tariffs," said Scott Meadows, CEO of Maxville Winery in Napa Valley, who has more than 20 years of experience in winemaking and management. "No one's exporting the volumes that we used to."
\n"Canada was the top export market for all Napa wines, and that's been shut off completely thanks to the tariffs," Meadows said. "So we're not sending it all to Canada, and it's really hurting us."
\nFor California wineries, the damage from retaliatory tariffs represents only part of the fallout. The tariffs have driven up costs for key imports needed for wine production, including glass bottles largely sourced from China and Mexico, corks and barrels from Europe, and labels and packaging materials from around the world.
\n"Tariffs are a real problem," Meadows told China Daily. "If we buy some equipment, for example, a forklift, one of the most important pieces of equipment that a winery has, the parts are mostly made in foreign countries."
\n"When a forklift breaks down and you need a part, it used to cost maybe $300 to fix it. Now it might cost $600 or $800 because the tariffs have bumped up all those prices. So we've definitely felt that," he said.
\nTariffs have also driven up expenses for everything from tractors to production equipment throughout their estate. "So long term, that's going to hurt us. Because as we start to go through the harvest and figure out what our costs are at the end of the year, that's certainly going to impact our wine," said Meadows.
\nThere is always interest in the Chinese market, but trade-related issues have made it more challenging to develop that market, said Spencer.
\nHe pointed to tariffs imposed on US wines entering China as countermeasures against US tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018 during Trump's first term. The trade disputes led to a combined tax rate exceeding 90 percent for US wines.
\n"I think everyone on the business side wants consistency, like developing an export market in China," he said. "We have vendors in Asia now looking at doing business there. But I think the opportunities have been less in recent years because of the up-and-down trade relations."
\nBitter urged the Trump administration to carefully administer tariff and trade policies to avoid exposing the US wine industry to global discrimination.
\nThe constant policy shifts have created an environment of uncertainty that makes long-term planning difficult, Bitter said.
\nliazhu@chinadailyusa.com
\n", - "content": "Grass overtakes an abandoned vineyard in northern California during the 2025 harvest season. Grapevines with yellowed, withered leaves remain unpicked as wine growers face mounting pressures from oversupply, rising costs and tariffs.
\n\nFrom the sprawling vineyards of the Central Valley to the prestigious hillsides of Napa Valley, California's wine growers are facing a troubling harvest season.
\nRows of unpicked grapes shrivel under the autumn sun, their leaves yellowed and curled. Once-neatly trimmed vines droop under the weight of fruit clusters. In some areas, bulldozers plow through what were productive vineyards just months ago, ripping decades-old rootstock from the soil.
\nThe abandoned vineyards reveal growing pressures on an industry that has helped shape California's agricultural economy and international reputation.
\n"It is sad. A lot of people's identity is tied up in their family farm, and there's a real challenge right now that is making it difficult," Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, told China Daily.
\n"Most of them are family farms. They're getting out of the business," Spencer said. "They're either putting the property up for sale or looking to lease the ground to somebody else." His organization represents winegrowers and winemakers in Lodi, a major wine-producing region in California's Central Valley.
\nGrowers are in the midst of a harvest that started in early September and runs through late October. Despite favorable crop conditions and a good growing season, this year's harvest will be the smallest in decades because many grapes have gone unsold and won't be picked.
\nSpencer described the situation as "a crisis" that has gripped the Central Valley for two years, with this year the worst yet. "It's widespread across California," he said.
\nOver the past two years, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 tons of California wine grapes — enough to fill 500 million to 650 million bottles — were left rotting on the vine because growers couldn't find buyers, according to Spencer.
\nThe crisis has hit independent growers particularly hard. Nearly 80 percent of California wine grapes are grown by independent farmers, and in the Central Valley, more than 90 percent of growers operate independently, Spencer said.
\nMany independent growers have abandoned their vineyards rather than face a difficult choice: walk away and lose their investment or farm all year only to lose money at harvest, said Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers.
\n"It's a losing situation all the way around," Bitter told China Daily.
\n"It has happened before, but this is the worst I've ever seen it, and I've been doing this for almost 30 years," said Bitter, a fourth-generation grape grower in Madera County.
\nBoth Bitter and Spencer point to multiple factors driving the crisis, including oversupply of wine, weakening consumer demand, and rising costs from inflation and labor shortages. But tariffs and trade policies have compounded these challenges, putting California producers at a disadvantage against heavily subsidized competitors in Europe.
\nTrade disadvantages
\n"The trade issues have affected demand for California wine globally," Spencer said. "Part of it is an anti-American attitude. That's what's going on in Canada. On the supply chain side of things, there are a lot of pressures."
\nEarlier this year, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum shipped to the United States. In response, the Canadian government announced a 25 percent tariff in March on US wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, prompting most Canadian distributors to pull American wines from shelves and cancel orders.
\nAfter nearly six months of negotiations, Canada lifted the retaliatory tariff effective Sept 1, but most Canadian provinces have not returned American wines to store shelves, keeping California producers shut out of their largest export market.
\n"Exports are horrible because of the tariffs," said Scott Meadows, CEO of Maxville Winery in Napa Valley, who has more than 20 years of experience in winemaking and management. "No one's exporting the volumes that we used to."
\n"Canada was the top export market for all Napa wines, and that's been shut off completely thanks to the tariffs," Meadows said. "So we're not sending it all to Canada, and it's really hurting us."
\nFor California wineries, the damage from retaliatory tariffs represents only part of the fallout. The tariffs have driven up costs for key imports needed for wine production, including glass bottles largely sourced from China and Mexico, corks and barrels from Europe, and labels and packaging materials from around the world.
\n"Tariffs are a real problem," Meadows told China Daily. "If we buy some equipment, for example, a forklift, one of the most important pieces of equipment that a winery has, the parts are mostly made in foreign countries."
\n"When a forklift breaks down and you need a part, it used to cost maybe $300 to fix it. Now it might cost $600 or $800 because the tariffs have bumped up all those prices. So we've definitely felt that," he said.
\nTariffs have also driven up expenses for everything from tractors to production equipment throughout their estate. "So long term, that's going to hurt us. Because as we start to go through the harvest and figure out what our costs are at the end of the year, that's certainly going to impact our wine," said Meadows.
\nThere is always interest in the Chinese market, but trade-related issues have made it more challenging to develop that market, said Spencer.
\nHe pointed to tariffs imposed on US wines entering China as countermeasures against US tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018 during Trump's first term. The trade disputes led to a combined tax rate exceeding 90 percent for US wines.
\n"I think everyone on the business side wants consistency, like developing an export market in China," he said. "We have vendors in Asia now looking at doing business there. But I think the opportunities have been less in recent years because of the up-and-down trade relations."
\nBitter urged the Trump administration to carefully administer tariff and trade policies to avoid exposing the US wine industry to global discrimination.
\nThe constant policy shifts have created an environment of uncertainty that makes long-term planning difficult, Bitter said.
\nliazhu@chinadailyusa.com
\n", - "category": "", - "link": "https://mobile.chinadaily.com.cn/cn/html5/2025-10/15/content_012_68eec3a4ed50ccabe151b219.htm#012WORLD", - "creator": "", - "pubDate": "Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:21:04 +0000", - "enclosure": "", - "enclosureType": "", - "image": "", - "id": "", - "language": "", - "folder": "双语", - "feed": "ChinaDaily", - "read": false, - "favorite": false, - "created": false, - "tags": [], - "hash": "94ce9ce8277059c63f310de3c056db07", - "highlights": [] - }, { "title": "007CHINA - Rail reliability delivers steady success", "description": "Containers for the China-Europe Railway Express service are hoisted in Tongjiang, Heilongjiang province, on July 25. The station, near the China-Russia border, serves as a transfer hub for trains of different gauges in China and Russia.
\nThe 110,000th train of the China-Europe Railway Express service departs from Qingdao, Shandong province, in June.
\nTrains carrying automobiles await departure in Chongqing in September.
\nA forklift operator moves a container on the China-Europe Railway Express service in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, in August.
\nThe multiple shock waves that hit global shipping in 2021 forced Shandong Linglong Tire, one of China's largest tire manufacturers and exporters, to reexamine its logistics.
\nA solution was quickly found in the China-Europe freight train network, a vital trade artery connecting manufacturing centers in China with markets in Central Asia and Europe.
\n"Sea transportation was so unstable," said Pan Wenfeng, head of Linglong's inland logistics department. "Prices skyrocketed and space was difficult to book. That gave us an opportunity to cooperate with the China-Europe Railway Express."
\nWhat began as a stopgap measure has since matured into a long-term and stable partnership.
\n"For overseas market expansion, sea transport is slow, with long delivery cycles that cannot ensure supply chain stability for our overseas production bases," Pan said.
\n"For critical raw materials and equipment where time efficiency matters, we now choose the China-Europe freight train. The train offers speed, lower costs and customized services. By using the rail service, our key raw materials and machinery arrive swiftly at overseas plants. Transit times are 50 percent faster than sea transport, greatly improving cash flow, reducing logistics costs and enhancing our global competitiveness."
\nHeadquartered in Zhaoyuan in East China's Shandong province, Linglong has invested heavily abroad, with plants in Thailand and Serbia — the latter marking China's first tire factory in Europe.
\nAround 10 percent of Linglong's exports move via China-Europe freight trains.
\nThough sea freight still dominates its logistics, rail transport has become a strategic supplement, supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, boosting China's opening-up, and helping secure stable supply chains in an uncertain global environment.
\nDecade of expansion
\nFrom making just a handful of trips in 2011, the year of the network's launch, the China-Europe Railway Express has grown to handling 19,000 round trips in 2024, 10 percent up on the year prior, transporting over 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, according to Xinhua News Agency.
\nIn total, as of July, it's estimated that the service had completed more than 110,000 round trips, carrying goods worth over $450 billion.
\nThe network has grown to cover nearly the entire Eurasian landmass. Inside China, three main routes — the western, central and eastern — attract cargo from different regions.
\nBeyond China's borders, three corresponding corridors stretch into Europe. Recent years have seen successful trial operations of the southern corridor, opening new gateways to the continent. Close coordination with foreign railway companies has expanded and diversified these international routes, creating a transcontinental network that is efficient, extends in multiple directions, and connects land and sea transport.
\nA total of 128 Chinese cities run freight trains to 229 cities in 26 European countries, and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. Customs procedures have also been streamlined. With the rollout of the "95306 System" digital platform, customs clearance that once took half a day now takes less than 30 minutes on average.
\nThere are 14 regional consolidation hubs inside China that channel goods into outbound trains, ensuring smoother distribution. Cargo from different regions is gathered at these hubs and organized before being shipped to Europe. Nearly nine out of 10 China-Europe freight trains are assembled and dispatched through these hubs nationwide.
\nIn the early years, there was a significant trade imbalance flowing east to west, with many empty containers on the return journey.
\nTo address this, China Railway Container Transport, a State-owned logistics operator, established subsidiaries in Kazakhstan, Germany and Russia to forge closer partnerships with local railways, ports and logistics companies.
\nThis deeper integration has gradually created a more balanced two-way flow, reducing empty runs and boosting overall efficiency.
\nA growing number of European exports, ranging from machinery and pharmaceuticals to luxury goods, are now heading east on trains that once returned half-empty.
\nThis has contributed to lower costs for Chinese exporters and more reliable schedules, as the network no longer bears the inefficiencies of empty backhauls.
\nTransportation hubs, such as Xiamen in Fujian province, have felt this transformation.
\n"The China-Europe trains from Xiamen not only carry Chinese products abroad but bring back foreign goods into China," said Wu Wei, marketing manager at Xiamen International Logistics Port.
\nIn recent years, the logistics port has received Belgian chocolates, Belarusian beef jerky, Polish yogurt, and cosmetics such as face masks and eye creams.
\nChina and beyond
\nIn Shandong, the first cold-chain train departed from Jiaozhou in May 2021. Since, the specialized service for perishable goods has expanded, with regular trains running from Qingdao, Jinan and Zibo, carrying fresh vegetables, seafood and frozen products to European markets.
\n"The growth has been transformative in the past decade," said Shang Mingzhu, a manager at the Jinan branch of China Railway Container Transport. "Cold-chain trains, designed to match Shandong's strengths in fresh produce and seafood, support Shandong products going global."
\nAcross inland hubs, from Xi'an in Shaanxi province to Chengdu in Sichuan province, local governments and logistics providers are leveraging the railway to connect their industries to global supply chains.
\nFor exporters of high-value goods, from electronics to auto parts, the railway has become a reliable bridge to European markets.
\nEuropean partners are equally enthusiastic. "The China-Europe Railway Express provides customers with stable and fast transportation services," said Alona Toprak, managing director of DB Cargo Eurasia, a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Bahn, specializing in cross-border rail logistics for China, Central Asia and Europe.
\n"Many high-quality products are transported between Europe and China via the service. Now, with more frequent departures, our cooperation has expanded from traditional manufacturing to green energy, new energy vehicles and cross-border e-commerce, further facilitating consumer markets," she said.
\nChinese goods, including consumer electronics, home appliances and daily-use products, can reach Europe faster and at better prices. At the same time, specialty products from Europe and other parts of Asia, such as Spanish wine, Dutch cheese, Polish apples, Thai durian and Laotian bananas, are increasingly available to Chinese consumers. This has created bigger markets and improved people's daily lives along the route.
\nThe railway's rapid growth has also boosted industry, trade and investment. Railways, freight companies and logistics providers along the route are earning more stable income, while local people have gained jobs. Major cities served by the trains, including Lodz in Poland, Duisburg in Germany, and Madrid in Spain, have modernized their infrastructure, helping related industries grow quickly.
\nIn June, the 110,000th train departed from Qingdao, Shandong province, carrying 55 containers of LCD displays and refrigerators worth 20 million yuan ($2.75 million) on a three-week journey to Moscow.
\nFor Gao Yitian, head of the Jiaozhou branch of Jinan Railway Logistics Center, the milestone was another ticked off on his 25-year career in the railway industry. Gao began handling international trains in 2016, when services were still in their infancy.
\n"At the start, we were unfamiliar with the processes. Customs checks and documentation were slow. Sometimes we couldn't even gather enough cargo for one train in two weeks," Gao said.
\n"Now, the systems are optimized, efficiency has soared and trains depart daily.
\n"In 2016, cargo mainly consisted of clothing and footwear. Today, shipments range from home appliances to high-end manufacturing equipment. The trains now run at 120 kilometers per hour, up from 80 km/h a decade ago," he said.
\nInnovation and growth
\nA recent development has been the introduction of set-scheduled China-Europe freight trains. A total of 17 set-scheduled trains run a week, with transit times cut by more than 30 percent compared with regular China-Europe freight train services. Unlike regular cargo carriers, the trains adhere to a set schedule along the entire route, further reducing transport time and also allowing customers to accurately calculate journey times between cities.
\nBeyond bulk goods and consumer staples, specialized services cater to cross-border e-commerce, cold-chain food, postal shipments and automobiles. The range of goods has broadened to over 50 categories and 50,000 products, with three types of goods in particular — auto parts, machinery and electronics — making up more than 60 percent of exports last year.
\nNew industries are also benefiting from the China-Europe Railway Express. Rail operators have addressed safety challenges in transporting new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels, allowing these high-value exports to reach global markets more efficiently and reliably.
\nA China-Europe service center and a dedicated online portal offer one-stop platforms for contracts, customs, insurance, cargo tracking and smart containers with real-time monitoring. Overseas, 131 container depots in 17 countries provide convenient pickup and return options across most rail-linked cities.
\nluowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",