China-Europe freight route a 'crucial lifeline'

The China-Europe freight train service has emerged as a crucial lifeline for enterprises grappling with supply chain disruptions, exemplified by a recent milestone where a freight train carrying ketchup successfully traversed from Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Salerno, Italy.

The new route, spanning over 10,000 kilometers in about 35 days, seamlessly integrates rail and ocean transportation, crossing the Caspian and Black seas to reach its final destination in Italy — a journey significantly faster than traditional maritime routes to Southern Europe.

Xinjiang Tianshun Supply Chain Co, a logistics and supply chain management company based in Urumqi, is one of the first companies to use the service.

It is a major logistics company that transport ketchup from Xinjiang to Europe, which heavily relied on the maritime transportation. But the Red Sea Crisis caused the company's tons of ketchup to be stranded at Tianjin Port since the Spring Festival in February.

Since April, the company began to use the China-Europe freight train's new route to transport ketchup from Xinjiang to Europe.

"We have had over 10,000 tons of ketchup piled up in Tianjin Port since the Spring Festival (because of the Red Sea attacks)," said Ding Zhiping, president of the company.

"However, thanks to the new set-scheduled train service between Xinjiang and Italy, it has swiftly resolved our logistical challenges, boosting export volumes, shortening transit times and enhancing operational efficiency," he said.