China-Europe Railway Express Marks 10 Years of Unified Brand, Annual Volume Hits 20,022 Trains

The National Development and Reform Commission held a special press conference on July 28 to brief the public on the operation of the China-Europe Railway Express. Since the unified brand was introduced in 2016, annual rail freight volume has grown from 1,702 trains in 2016 to 20,022 trains in 2025, with cumulative departures exceeding 130,000 trains. The service now reaches 236 cities in 26 European countries and has become an important land trade corridor across the Eurasian continent.

Relying on the China-Europe Railway Express, inland cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and Wuhan have gathered industries including new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, intelligent equipment and electronic information, forming a production and sales model of inland manufacturing, land-based export and direct access to Europe. Return trains bring precision equipment and specialty agricultural products from Europe, as well as minerals and grain from Central Asia, into China. Multiple main rail lines now form a transcontinental industrial collaboration network. Some leading companies have built global production and distribution systems around the rail corridor, driving the clustering and growth of related industries.

During the decade of operation, there remain areas for improvement in the China-Europe Railway Express, including customs inspection rules, port transshipment and some sections of overseas railway infrastructure. The 15th Five-Year Plan outline proposes focusing on four key priorities—improvement, expansion, upgrading and deepening—to advance the development of four systems: efficient transport, safety governance, diversified corridors and innovative development. This will support the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation and open new space for win-win development with countries along the routes.