A China-Europe freight train waits to depart from Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/66wz.com]
A China-Europe freight train carrying 50 coaches of made-in-Wenzhou products, including shoes, bathroom accessories, and auto parts, left Wenzhou on Nov 9 and will arrive in Russia in 18 days.
The products were valued at a total of 375 million yuan ($58.65 million), lifting the aggregate value of exports from Wenzhou to European countries by freight train in 2021 to 140 million yuan.
As Wenzhou is a strong manufacturer of leather products, shoes are a major export to Russia, with 2.05 billion yuan in shoes being shipped to Russia by train in 2020, accounting for 9.7 percent of Wenzhou's total shoe exports that year. The figure has risen to 2.15 billion yuan in the first three quarters of this year, a year-on-year increase of 34.2 percent.
"The Wenzhou-Europe freight trains have not only opened a convenient business channel between Asia and Europe, but also helped Wenzhou use its geographical advantages to contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative," said Mao Jianhong, chairman of the Zhejiang Seaport Group.
Statistics show that Wenzhou sent 20 freight trains to Europe in 2020 and 56 in 2021, marking an average year-on-year growth of 60 percent. The number reached 75 as of September and is expected to reach 100 by the end of the year.
