由 caicai8478 As a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Europe Express has evolved from an exploratory trade route to an indispensable land transport artery across the Eurasian continent. Its development has undergone a strategic shift from pursuing “number of trains” to focusing on “operational quality,” with “quality improvement and efficiency enhancement” becoming the core keyword of its current development. However, as scale and efficiency increase, new challenges have also emerged, testing the sustainable development capabilities of the China-Europe Express.
I. From “Quantitative Accumulation” to “Qualitative Leap”: The Evolution of the China-Europe Express
The evolution of the China-Europe Express can be summarized into three stages:
The Pioneering and Exploratory Period (2011-2015): Initial operations of the train, operating on a single route and relying on government subsidies, aimed to test route feasibility and cultivate the market.
Explosive Growth Period (2016-2020): The number of trains launched increased exponentially, and the route network quickly covered major hub cities in Eurasia. The problem of “heavy outbound traffic and light return traffic” (more cargo going west, less cargo going east) began to emerge.
Quality and Efficiency Improvement Period (2021-Present): The policy orientation shifted from “increase in volume” to “improvement in quality.” The core goals were to reduce operating costs, improve operational efficiency, optimize the cargo supply structure, and enhance market competitiveness, promoting the transformation of train services from “policy-driven projects” to “market-oriented operations.”
II. The Core Connotations and Measures of “Quality and Efficiency Improvement”
“Quality and efficiency improvement” are not empty slogans; they are reflected in a series of concrete operational optimizations and strategic adjustments:
Upgrading “hard connectivity” infrastructure:
Port capacity expansion and renovation: Key border ports such as Alashankou, Horgos, Erenhot, and Manzhouli were expanded and renovated to improve the efficiency of transshipment, inspection, and customs clearance, alleviating congestion bottlenecks.
Construction of Assembly Centers: Promote the development of “five major assembly centers” in Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, and Urumqi. By integrating freight into a “united freight” model, operate “public trains” to reduce waiting times, improve train load rates, and enhance operational stability.
Optimize the “soft connectivity” of rules and standards:
Customs Clearance Facilitation: Promote data collaboration among customs, railways, and operating companies, and implement a “railway fast customs clearance” model, achieving single-declaration, single-inspection, and full-process release, significantly reducing port detention times.
Unified Documents: Promote the use of the unified waybill under the Convention on International Railway Freight Transport (CIM/SMGS), reducing document handling in transit countries and improving operational efficiency.
Innovation in Operations and Services:
Develop Customized Trains: Operate specialized trains to meet the specific needs of new energy vehicles, photovoltaic products, cold chain goods, and other industries, providing personalized solutions.
Expanding the “Train Plus” model: Deeply integrating with new business models such as cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses to create integrated transport and trade supply chain services and enhance added value.
Enhancing return haul capabilities: Actively organizing return hauls for European goods such as auto parts, precision instruments, maternal and child products, and wine to address the imbalance between heavy outbound shipments and light return shipments and reduce overall costs.
III. New Challenges Facing Sustainable Development
Despite significant progress in improving quality and efficiency, the China-Europe Express still faces a series of complex new internal and external challenges:
Significant geopolitical uncertainty:
The Ukrainian crisis has increased risks on traditional trunk routes through Russia and Belarus, prompting some shippers to turn to alternative modes of transport.
Some European countries have increasingly complex attitudes toward the Belt and Road Initiative, and political concerns may translate into hidden barriers to express train operations.
Seeking and developing alternative routes, such as the Middle Corridor (through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus to Europe), has become an inevitable option. However, these routes are longer, involve more complex intermodal transport, and are more costly.
Pressures from market competition and subsidy reductions:
Returning shipping prices: The benefits of high shipping prices during the pandemic have disappeared, and shipping prices have returned to normal, squeezing the cost-effectiveness of railways.
Subsidy reduction: The general trend is for government subsidies to be gradually reduced and eventually eliminated. Train operations must achieve pure market-based profitability as soon as possible, placing extremely high demands on the cost control capabilities of operating companies.
Deeper issues of internal coordination and efficiency:
Difficulties in domestic and international coordination: Passing through multiple countries, involving different track gauges, languages, laws, and operating practices, there is still room for improvement in coordination efficiency.
Homogeneous competition: There is a certain degree of homogeneous competition and internal resource consumption among some node cities in China, and a fully differentiated and complementary pattern has not been formed.
Insufficient supply chain resilience: Global emergencies (such as epidemics and regional conflicts) have exposed the fragility of the train supply chain, and risk resilience needs to be further strengthened.
IV. Future Outlook: Towards a New Stage of Stability, Efficiency, and Sustainability
Facing challenges, the future development of the China-Europe Express should focus on the following:
Route Diversification: Accelerate the development of stable operational capabilities along alternative routes, such as the Middle Corridor, to mitigate geopolitical risks and build a more resilient transportation network.
Upscale Services: Transform from single transportation services to comprehensive supply chain services, offering one-stop solutions for warehousing, finance, customs clearance, and distribution, securing high-value-added cargo sources.
Smart Operations: Vigorously apply digital technologies, such as blockchain (to ensure transparency and credibility of documents), the Internet of Things (IoT) (to track cargo status in real time), and big data (to optimize routes and predict demand), to create a “digital train” and comprehensively improve operational efficiency.
International Cooperation: Establish a deeper, more market-oriented business cooperation model with countries along the route, de-emphasizing political overtones and emphasizing a mutually beneficial and win-win business logic, ensuring the stability and predictability of rules.
Conclusion
The evolution of the China-Europe Express embodies China’s deep engagement in global economic and trade governance. It has successfully demonstrated the enormous value and potential of transcontinental rail transportation. Improving quality and efficiency is the only path for China’s express trains to mature in the new era. While facing new challenges in geopolitics, market competition, and internal coordination, as long as they adhere to market-oriented principles, promote technological innovation, and deepen international cooperation, they will be able to navigate uncertainty and truly grow into a stable, efficient, and sustainable golden corridor for Asia-Europe trade, contributing even more to the stability and prosperity of the global supply chain.