Auto & Transportation

On March 9, with the roar of the siren, a train carrying 70 standard boxes of Spanish wine, olive oil and other special products slowly drove out of the Albanigar station in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and headed for Yiwu, Zhejiang, China, more than 10000 kilometers away; At the same time, another train was leaving Yiwu for Madrid. The China-Europe train "Yiwu New Europe" (Yiwu Madrid), specially named after the "Sino-Western Diplomatic Relations Memorial", departs from Yiwu and Madrid at the same time, galloping on the railway artery connecting the east and the west, bringing convenience to international trade enterprises along the line.

2023 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the West, and also the 10th anniversary of the proposal of jointly building the "the Belt and Road". At the end of 2014, the first "Yiwu New Europe" train set out from Yiwu and arrived in Madrid in 21 days. The 13000km China-EU train line opened up a new channel for international trade and economic exchanges between China and Europe. In the past nine years, more than 5000 "Yixin Europe" trains have been operated, and the number of lines has increased to 19. According to the local market demand in Spain, customized special trains for transporting tea, epidemic prevention materials, cross-border e-commerce products, cars and other different types of customers have been sent. A series of "steel camels" contribute to the win-win cooperation between China and the West.

The ancient city of Valladolid, located on the banks of the Pisuega River, is one of the famous wine producing regions in Spain, and also one of the cities through which the "Yixin Europe" train passes. For local farmers, China is a "good friend for many years". It is from here that local wine boarded the China-Europe train and arrived at the table of Chinese consumers. Oskar Puente, mayor of Baliadorid, said that through the "Yixin Europe" train, Baliadorid can export local agricultural products to China, while transferring raw materials and agricultural products from China to surrounding cities, making full use of the business opportunities brought by the train to promote local economic and trade development.

"The 'Yixin Europe' train has made a great contribution to the international trade and economic cooperation between West and China. Over the years, the train has helped us to establish cooperation with countries along the line, and transported the characteristic products of various countries, including Spain, to the Chinese market." Pablo Gard, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain, said that railway transport has unique advantages, higher transport efficiency compared with sea transport, and lower carbon and environmental protection compared with air transport. "The China EU Train is a vivid practice of co building the the Belt and Road cooperation, which has established a broad and open platform for global economic and trade exchanges. We look forward to bringing more opportunities to all parties by co building the the Belt and Road."

Wu Haitao, Chinese Ambassador to Spain, said that in recent years, Sino-Western international trade and economic relations have been steadily promoted. In 2022, the international trade volume of Sino-Western goods will exceed US $50 billion for the first time and continue to maintain a good momentum of development. China welcomes more Spanish enterprises and goods to enter the Chinese market. China is willing to import more high-quality Spanish products and promote the upgrading and balanced development of Sino-West trade. China expects the two countries to jointly promote the "the Belt and Road" cooperation project, including the "Yixin Europe" train, and strengthen industrial docking in digital economy, port logistics, smart cities, clean energy, electric vehicles and other fields, so that more tangible cooperation achievements will benefit the two countries and their people.