Freight train departures herald promising start to China's 2026 foreign trade

Three international freight trains departed on Thursday, the first day of the new year, from east China's Zhejiang Province, northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, marking a strong start for China's foreign trade in 2026.

The one left from Zhejiang became the 1,060th maritime-rail intermodal train handled by Yiwu (Suxi) International Hub Port.

Equipped with a digital intelligent control system, the port efficiently decoded and issued operational commands in real time, ensuring seamless coordination across all units and enabling the continuous export of Chinese goods to markets worldwide.

Known as the "world's supermarket", Yiwu is a global hub for small commodities.

In Shaanxi, a China-Europe freight train loaded with 45 containers of photovoltaic modules departed from the Xi'an International Port Station.

The train is scheduled to exit China via the Horgos Port in Xinjiang, traverse Kazakhstan, and ultimately arrive in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

China-Europe freight trains, dubbed "the modern steel camel caravans", have established a vast logistics network across Eurasia. This initiative embodies both the legacy of the ancient Silk Road and the Belt and Road Initiative's (BRI) vision of enhancing infrastructure connectivity and trade facilitation.

Another China-Europe freight train, carrying 110 standard containers of auto parts, mechanical and electrical products, and daily consumer goods, departed from the Alashankou railway port in Xinjiang.

This train, the first to pass through Xinjiang's rail ports in the new year, is bound for Malaszewicze, Poland, a major logistics hub in Central Europe.

Official data showed that China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 41.21 trillion yuan (about 5.89 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months of 2025, up 3.6 percent year on year.

In November alone, China's goods imports and exports edged up 4.1 percent to 3.9 trillion yuan.

The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that 32 vessels including oil tankers, container ships and other merchant ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz within the past 24 hours with permission from the IRGC.

According to Monday's media reports from the Qatar side, an Iranian official stated that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened in phases.

Iran tightened its grip on the Strait beginning February 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

The United States has also imposed a naval blockade on the strait, preventing ships traveling to and from Iranian ports transiting the waterway.