The central Chinese city of Wuhan has been operating regular freight trains to France since 2016, handling 205 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter, up 11 percent year-on-year.
The first Chinese freight train directly to France departed from Wuhan in April 2016, arriving in the city of Lyon. Wuhan then opened the freight train route to Dourges, France, in the following year. Local logistics officials said they saw an annual increase in export train trips from one trip a week to one or two trips a day.
"We currently have two freight train routes to France. To meet the needs of French customers, we opened a contingent line to the country in 2016, and the number of such train trips is increasing," said Li Feng, manager of China Railway Wuhan Bureau Group Corporation Logistics Center.
In October 2023, the train route became bi-directional when a French train from Dourges delivered 45.15 million yuan (about 6.26 million U.S. dollars) worth of European cosmetics to Wuhan. Li said it also means more frequent trade of goods from industry to people's daily life.
"At first, the trains carried more large machines than daily necessities. But in recent years, the cargoes have included more everyday necessities, including cosmetics and clothing, which shows the growing demand of the French for our consumer goods. The frequency of train trips and the amount of goods have been increasing every year. We are working closely together based on mutual needs and win-win cooperation," said Li.
A special train also departed from Wuhan to celebrate the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations.
By the end of April this year, Wuhan has accumulated more than 4,000 trains to Europe, more than 350,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods, with a cargo value of more than 96 billion yuan (about 13.31 billion U.S. dollars), and opened 52 cross-border transportation routes, covering 40 countries and 115 cities in the Eurasian continent.
Central Chinese city runs regular freight trains to France
China is a significant cooperation partner to Saudi Arabia in its energy transition and sustainable development, the CEO of Saudi state-owned petrochemicals group Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Riyadh Conference, which was held in the Saudi capital on May 6.
The event, which drew experts and dignitaries from 180 countries and regions around the world to share insights on the ongoing energy transition and sustainable development, was co-organized by SABIC, which is also a co-sponsor of the BFA.
Abdulrahman Al Fageeh, SABIC CEO and board member of the BOAO Forum for Asia, said in an interview with China Global Television Network that China was also a significant market for SABIC products.
"For the energy transition there's a lot of misleading about the understanding of the energy transition. Energy transition is about the energy intensity, about the improvement in the energy itself, about using more resources for energy for better, also to provide the energy required for development. As you know, China is a big market for chemicals, it represents about 40 percent of the demand. Also, us, we in SABIC, I can talk about SABIC, we have a lot of investments in China. Recently we announced one of the largest with the chemical complex in Fujian, in the Gulei Park. We believe in the Chinese market, and we consider China as a strategic market for SABIC," he said.
Al Fageeh said his company was building partnerships across the world in its drive towards sustainability.
"Collaboration and partnership is the way that it should be, and this is what we in SABIC have started as a company to be sustainable based on the partnership with the whole block. More than 12 partners are working with us including a lot of them from China. This is the way it works. We believe in collaboration, we believe in partnership and we believe this is the only thing that can bring all nations together," he said.
Al Fageeh said that SABIC is a key player in Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, a government-led project to diversify the nation's economy.
"First, SABIC is one of the enablers of the Vision 2030 of the kingdom. I'm glad you have visited the home of Innovation to give you a demonstration of how this application is applied in life and we continue to focus in SABIC on the innovation and research for the sustainable innovative solutions that come from the chemical industry," he said.
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in founded in 2001 with a focus on Asia and a global perspective. It offers a high-level platform for dialogues between leaders from governments, enterprises, experts and academia to discuss economic, social and environmental issues, thereby promoting economic cooperation and supporting the sustainable development of Asia's economy.
Saudi Arabia to enhance cooperation with China in energy transition: entrepreneur
