China on Wednesday launched its first timetabled China-Europe freight rail service from Xi'an to Prague, aimed at sharply improving delivery speed and reliability along the cross-continental route.
The train departs from Xi'an International Port and travels through Kazakhstan and Russia before reaching the Czech capital, completing the 11-day and 4-hour journey under a fixed schedule agreed by rail operators along the line.
"The containers, after arriving Prague, will be distributed to different destinations, not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Slovakia, Austria, also Berlin in Germany," said Koubek Martin, project manager with Czech logistics company Metrans.
Timetabled services are designed to offer more stable transit times and strengthen the resilience of global supply and industrial chains.
"The new service cuts transit time by 30 percent, from 18 days to 11 days and 4 hours. It is not only a speed improvement but also a major step forward in the reliability and predictability of China-Europe freight services," said Dong Wanxu, chairman of Beijing Trans-Eurasia International Logistics Co. Ltd.
The Prague route is the second fully timetabled China-Europe line in Xi'an after its service to Duisburg, marking further progress of the city in building a more diversified and efficient network.
From January to October 2025, Xi'an has operated 5,063 China-Europe freight trains, up 16.3 percent year on year, setting a record for the period and remaining among the national leaders in volume and capacity.
Xi'an launches first timetabled China-Europe freight train to prague
The sales revenue of China's high-tech industries in the period from January 1 to March 25 increased by 14.6 percent year on year, the latest official data released by the State Taxation Administration showed Wednesday.
The growth in sales revenue highlighted the stronger competitiveness in the country's high-tech industries and deepened industrial upgrading driven by technological innovation.
The data also showed faster commercialization of scientific-technological research achievements. The sales revenue in the scientific-technological research and technical service sector rose 21 percent year on year during the very period, while the sales revenue of intellectual property-intensive sectors with high sci-tech content increased by 10.9 percent year on year.
"From January 1 to March 25, the sales revenue of core industries within the digital economy and the amount spent by enterprises nationwide on digital technology procurement grew by 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent year-on-year, respectively. [These figures] illustrate continued advancement of digital industrialization and industrial digitalization in China," said Huang Yun, spokesman of the State Taxation Administration, at a press conference in Beijing.
Next, Huang said, taxation authorities will further refine and implement preferential tax and fee policies designed to support sci-tech innovation. By leveraging tax-related big data and advanced information technology, Huang added, taxation authorities will keep delivering targeted policy guidance directly to enterprises to maximize policy dividends and help foster robust development of China's new quality productive forces.
China's high-tech industries record robust growth in early 2026
