Buying and Selling Goods Around the World

By staff reporter ZHOU LIN

WHEN French people turn on their ultrathin LCD TVs made in China， Chinese children drink Polish milk powder， British ladies put on Chinese fashionable dresses， and white-collar Chinese drive German cars – they all are enjoying the benefits of the China Railway Express （CR Express） that travels back and forth along the Silk Road. CR Express has become an important platform for China-Europe exchanges and a carrier for promoting“policy communication， facility connectivity， unimpeded trade， financial connectivity， and people-to-people bonds” in countries along the route.

The book China Railway Express： Great Arteries of the Silk Road revolves around the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， and records the start and gradual development of the CR Express. From the perspective of interconnection， it shows that the“steel-made caravan” traveling on the Silk Road not only plays an important role in promoting China-Europe and even wider regional cooperation， but also strengthens political mutual trust， economic integration， and cultural understanding among Asia-Pacific and European economic circles， shaping a global landscape of “buying and selling goods around the world.”

Author of the book， Wang Xiong， has conducted multiple interviews along the CR Express and at border ports since 2016. Based on the first-hand information he has gathered， his book presents engrossing stories， photos， and fascinating details， helping readers to rediscover the history of the ancient Silk Road， understand the significance of rebuilding the Eurasian Continental Bridge in the new era， and explore the BRI and the Chinese vision of building a community with a shared future for humankind.

To achieve interconnection， openness， and win-win cooperation， infrastructure construction is particularly important. Furthermore， unimpeded trade among countries needs to break down the various barriers of language， culture， and inconsistent standards. Before freight trains enter Kazakhstan， they pass through cargo clearance process at the Alashankou port in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， at the same time， the railway department needs to inspect the safety of the train. As railways in different countries use either normal gauge or broad gauge， cargo containers transported on the CR Expresses need to be reloaded by cranes at each side of the port station when they go abroad and come back.

To make customs clearance more convenient， China and Kazakhstan respectively send staff to be on duty at each others ports all year round. 48-year-old Shen Jianwei， a full-time conductor of the CR Express， sets off from the Alashankou Station towards the Dostyk Station 12 kilometers away at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour， and then a Kazakhstan driver takes on the relay race to drive the train fur- ther onto the next country at the same speed. When trains return from Europe to Alashankou， the drivers repeat the same process in reverse. Even though the two stations are not far apart， they belong to two countries that speak different languages. So for Shen， he needs the qualifications recognized by the national railway departments of both sides， is required to be familiar with the laws， customs， and a working knowledge of railways of both countries， and must have a certain fluency in the Kazakh language.

As the proposal of BRI has been accepted in countries along the railway routes， Chinas overseas engineering projects and foreign investment have injected tremendous impetus into the host nations industry incubation， employment， taxation， and trade growth. As an example， the books author specifically mentioned the CR Express departing from Yiwu in the east coastal province Zhejiang where the biggest wholesale market in China is located to Spains capital of Madrid.

On November 18， 2014， the first Yiwu-Madrid train with 82 TEUs of commodities departed from Yiwu， passing through Kazakhstan， Russia， Belarus， Poland， Germany， and France， a trip which lasted 21 days before finally arriving at its destination. The freight train has increased the trade volume between China and Europe by US $2 million. Then on February 22， 2015， during the Chinese New Year， the first train returned to Yiwu， loaded with 64 containers of Spanish food， including wine， olive oil， dairy products， and ham — all Chinese peoples favorite European food.

Spain has always been a transit station for Yiwus small commodities on the European market. Three-quarters of commodities sold on the Spanish market come from Yiwu. Before the freight train was initialized， goods between China and Spain were mainly transported by sea， and then by land to Madrid after arriving at the Spanish port. In those days， it took more than 40 days for the shipment to reach its final destination， twice the amount of time to transport by train. Due to the long shipping time， the cost of capital flow was high. With the same amount of funds， one can now make 10 round trips a year by train， compared to six round trips by sea in the past. At present， the two world-class consumer goods distribution centers — Yiwu and Madrid— have set up the axis of trade exchanges through the YiwuMadrid train and realized close cooperation between them.

The cooperation extends wherever the train goes. Through the book， readers can sit back and enjoy a literary ride on the CR Express along the Silk Road， step off onto stations along the route in Moscow， Warsaw， Duisburg， and London， and feel European peoples expectation for CR Express， which brings the worlds commodities to them and sells their goods to other countries.