Nanjing launches 1st China-Europe express train of Year of Snake

Nanjing City in east China's Jiangsu Province launched the first China-Europe Railway Express train for the 2025 Chinese New Year on Wednesday morning. On the first day of the Year of the Snake, a freight train loaded with 110 containers of textiles, auto parts and electronic machinery departed from the Nanjing Logistics Center. It is expected to reach its destination – Moscow, Russia – in 18 days.

Later in the day, the first train heading to central Asia from Nanjing also left the logistics center, transporting goods including refrigerators and washing machines to Kazakhstan's Almaty.

A total of nine express freight trains to Europe and other parts of Asia are set to depart from Nanjing during the Chinese New Year holiday, which will last until February 4.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the biggest annual holiday for the Chinese people.

China's achievements and cooperation initiatives in the technology and innovation sector have been highlighted at the ongoing Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) in Beijing.

The five-day forum opened on Wednesday and has attracted over 1,000 guests from more than 100 countries and regions to exchange views under the theme of "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation".

This year's event showcased over 500 cutting-edge achievements across fields such as embodied intelligence, smart manufacturing and biomedicine, fully demonstrating China's latest scientific and technological advancements and innovations.

"[I'm] really impressed about the level of modernization and dynamism of the technology industry and AI here in China. We need support, commitment and leadership. China is providing all of them and in particular in the emerging technologies, including AI," said Sergio Mujica, secretary-general of the International Organization for Standardization.

At the forum's annual meeting, 60 parallel sessions are scheduled -- 21 of them debuting this year -- furthering global technology exchange.

"China is opening its full technical infrastructure to the world, and I think specifically for the Global South. This acts as a major advancement and it shows the level of responsibility and openness that China is showing towards the advancement of science and the collaboration," said Said Taha, a consultant for the Egyptian Ministry of Education.

At the 2026 Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Fair, part of the ZGC Forum, over 500 high-quality projects and scientific and technological achievements were on display, establishing a multi-level, wide-ranging platform for technology transaction and cooperation.

The attendees hailed the fair for bringing together global companies and facilitating exchanges.

"The innovation here in China is so attractive that a lot of global companies are coming to China in order to do the business deals in order to bring the products to the global markets," said Joseph Scheeren, member of the French National Academy of Pharmacy.

"The ZGC Forum provides an open platform for dialogue, and we hope to participate in more international cooperation in the future to promote Chinese technology and products to the world," said Yang Zhilin, CEO of Moonshot AI, a Chinese tech company.