The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan road-rail intermodal transport service has facilitated economic and trade cooperation between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster in south China -- one of China's most open and economically dynamic areas -- and Central Asian countries, who are becoming increasingly important trade partners of China.
A China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan international freight train recently departed from the Zengcehng Railway Logistics Park in south China's Guangdong Province. It will complete a rail-to-road transfer at Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and pass through the Irkeshtam port in Xinjiang's Kizilsukur Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, finally arriving in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
The train is loaded with daily necessities and household appliances produced in the Greater Bay Area. Via this road-rail intermodal route, the transportation time between the Greater Bay Area and the Central Asian countries can be greatly shortened.
"[Transportation] on this route is expected to take 16 days in total. Compared to the traditional route through the Horgos port [between Xinjiang and neighboring Kazakhstan], the travel distance beyond the Chinese border is shortened by about 400 kilometers, reducing logistics costs by 30 percent. The route saves about five days of in-transit time, helping products manufactured in the Greater Bay Area tap into the Eurasian market," said Chen Jinhong, deputy manager of business department of the Zengcheng Railway Logistics Park of the Guangdong Railway Logistics Center, in an interview with China Central Television prior to the second China-Central Asia Summit in the Kazakh capital city of Astana from Monday to Wednesday.
Launched in 2023, the road-rail intermodal transport service has strengthened economic and trade exchanges between the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, it has laid a solid foundation for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project, facilitating deeper participation of the Greater Bay Area and Xinjiang in the construction of the Belt and Road economic corridor for international cooperation and enhancing opening up to higher levels.
In April this year, the transport service has upgrade its operation system to a "one-stop" model, achieving a major breakthrough in improving customs clearance efficiency.
"Although there are both rail and road transport involved on this route, exporters only need to complete customs declaration and cargo inspection procedures at the departure location. This allows for seamless logistics throughout the journey, with customs supervision operating under a single-documentation system, improving overall customs clearance efficiency by over 30 percent," said Wang Yanli, deputy director of the Supervision Department of Zengcheng Customs subordinated to the Huangpu Customs.
"Compared with the traditional transport mode, the entire transportation time can be reduced by more than two days, with each container saving at least 500 yuan (about 70 U.S. dollars) in transit costs," said Liu Yang, customs affairs manager of the China Railway Express Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Branch.
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan road-rail transport system facilitates trade between China's Greater Bay Area, Central Asia
