Train services between West Kowloon Station in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the mainland have been further expanded starting from Sunday, with the number of direct access stations increasing from 80 to 94.
Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on Sunday launched direct train services to Wuhan City of central China's Hubei Province, Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jieyang City and Shanwei City of south China's Guangdong Province for the first time, aiming to open up new opportunities for business, cultural exchanges, and tourism development between Hong Kong and the mainland.
"Our home is near Xi'an North Railway Station, and my daughter's home is near West Kowloon Station. With the opening of this train service, it's now much more convenient for us to meet. I'm very happy," said a passenger from Xi'an.
"I'm excited. We're taking this train from Hong Kong to Xi'an. It's the first train, and we arrived at the station very early," said a passenger from Hong Kong.
The trains bound for Hong Kong has been further increased, with the number of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains operating on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway rising to 242, bringing the total number of trains to 254 under full capacity.
"With the continuous launch of cross-border trains to Hong Kong from various cities in the mainland, the passenger flow at West Kowloon Station has been steadily rising thanks to the favorable customs clearance mode of 'juxtaposed border control,' the new visa-free policy, and other convenience measures. In 2024, nearly 27 million people entered and exited West Kowloon Station, with the maximum daily passenger flow reaching 128,000. It's now common that daily passenger flow exceeds 100,000 during holidays," said Qian Binbin, vice-captain of No. 5 Team at West Kowloon Border Inspection Station.
HK West Kowloon Station expands routes to mainland to enhance cross-border services
The 10th China-Russia Expo opened on Sunday in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China, highlighting the resilience, vitality and mutual benefits of China-Russia economic ties.
Held from May 17 to 21, this year's expo covers a floor space of 55,000 square meters, with more than 1,500 companies from 46 countries and regions taking part. Nearly 300 Russian companies are attending, while over 5,000 buyers are expected.
Since 2014, the event has attracted more than 7,200 Chinese and Russian companies and over a million visitors.
The China-Russia Expo is the largest comprehensive exhibition platform between the two countries.
President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin each sent congratulatory letters to the event, encouraging all sectors from both countries to seize the opportunity, make full use of their geographical proximity and economic complementarity, and further expand all-round practical cooperation.
"Leaders of the two countries have signed agreements to deepen practical cooperation, which we fully support. Russia and China stand side by side for common development, benefiting young people and all people. Such cooperation is timely and far-reaching. We are here in Harbin for the China-Russia Expo, coming from Russia's Sakha Republic. Our region is dominated by agriculture. We are seeking advanced farming technologies including irrigation equipment and harvesters. We hope to reach deals in the coming days to boost local development," said Vasiliy Petrovich Alexeev, head of Ust-Aidan Region of the Russian Federation.
"We are greatly inspired by the congratulatory letters from the heads of state of China and Russia. We will keep building targeted and efficient cooperation platforms, and smooth channels for sub-national exchanges between China and Russia," said Chen Shijun, president of Heilongjiang Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
China-Russia trade volume has surpassed 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for 16 years running.
In the first quarter of this year, bilateral trade volume hit 60 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of more than 14 percent.
This year's Expo features eight major exhibition zones. Beyond the exhibition halls, Russian delegations have also conducted field visits to Chinese companies. A delegation from the Republic of Buryatia visited one of northeast China's largest building materials distribution centers to explore potential areas of cooperation.
"Regular China-Russia economic and trade events continuously bring fresh cooperation opportunities for both sides. This field trip to Xilong Building Materials Market has helped us explore more practical directions and modes for bilateral cooperation," said Alexei Tsydenov, head of the Republic of Buryatia of the Russian Federation.
"Relying on Buryatia's abundant mineral resources and sound logistics conditions, we plan to build industrial parks focusing on home building materials, mineral resources and energy sectors in Russia. We will introduce advanced Chinese technologies and management models to drive coordinated industrial upgrading between the two countries," said Wu Jinrong, vice president of Harbin Xilong International Trade and Logistics Park.
From everyday consumer goods to advanced helicopters, and from mineral resources to intelligent robotics, China-Russia cooperation now spans a wide range of sectors. Economic ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries continue to advance toward higher-quality development and broader prospects.
China-Russia Expo promotes trust, cooperation, mutual benefit
