During the National Day holiday, the "Tianshan" cross-border freight train service has operated at peak capacity of up to three departures per day from the Urumqi International Land Port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, maintaining a steady flow of goods to Central Asia and Europe.
To guarantee efficient clearance of foreign trade cargo throughout the holiday running from Oct 1 to Oct 7, railway authorities, customs and station operators set up a coordinated dispatching mechanism. Operating around the clock on a 24/7 basis, they adopted streamlined procedures to significantly boost cross-border logistics efficiency.
As of September 30 this year, the "Tianshan" China-Europe (China-Central Asia) freight train service had made over 750 trips, already approaching its total volume for the whole of last year.
Named after the majestic Tianshan Mountains, the service was launched in December 2023. Starting from just two to three trips per week in its early days, it has steadily scaled up into a regular daily operation, now averaging more than two departures a day and reaching as many as three on peak days. Its routes currently extend to 19 countries.
'Tianshan' China-Europe freight trains maintain busy schedule during National Day holiday
Qatar said Tuesday that negotiations and exchanges of messages among parties to the regional conflict are continuing through the country and its regional partners.
Ibrahim bin Sultan Al-Hashmi, director of the media and communications department at Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said at a weekly media briefing that Qatar could not disclose details of the ongoing diplomatic exchanges but confirmed that talks were continuing.
The scale of this conflict and the magnitude of the price that the whole world is paying require Qatar to put its best efforts to end this immediately through a negotiable solution on the negotiation table, Al-Hashmi said.
He added that negotiations had taken into consideration the concerns of the various parties, without specifying details.
On the same day, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met visiting Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and discussed the latest regional developments and efforts to de-escalate tensions.
Sheikh Tamim met Momeni and his delegation at the Amiri Diwan, the emir's administration office, in Doha, according to a statement from the Amiri Diwan.
Conflict between the United States and Iran has dragged on for more than seven months, with no breakthrough in sight.
Qatar says negotiations, message exchanges ongoing to end regional conflict
