On May 11, the first 'South Asia International Freight Train' in China started in Lanzhou. Ten days later, this freight train full of 'Made in China' will arrive in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, through railway and road transportation. This marks that in the construction of the 'the Belt and Road' and after the launch of the 'Lanzhou' freight train for Central Asia and Europe, Lanzhou has taken another important step towards opening up to the west and south.
Over the past two years since the major strategic concept of the 'the Belt and Road' was put forward, countries along the Belt and Road have responded in succession. Last year, China signed a memorandum of understanding with more than 30 countries to jointly build the 'the Belt and Road'. Some of the main 'the Belt and Road' frameworks have begun to be built, such as the China Mongolia Russia Economic Corridor, the China Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor, the China Central Asia West Asia Corridor, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Bangladesh China India Myanmar Economic Corridor, etc. Some have achieved gratifying results. First, for China and Europe, in the past, freight between China and Europe mainly relied on air, sea and road transport. Air and road transport costs were high and sea transport took a long time. With the characteristics of short distance, fast speed and high safety, as well as the advantages of safety, fast, green and environmental protection, China Europe Express has become the backbone of land transportation in international logistics.
The prospect of international freight transport is very broad, with high cost performance. As we all know, in the past, our logistics trade to South Asia and Southeast Asia was mainly completed by sea. The railway freight train opened this time can be said to have opened up a road transport way, which will give full play to the advantages of railway transport. It is conceivable that in the future, the railway will drive economic trade, goods exchanges, personnel flows, cultural exchanges and technical support between countries and cities, which will certainly strengthen the 'city' effect among countries, and the development pattern of the 'the Belt and Road' will also establish a cooperation system for common development of all countries in the world through mutual help, mutual assistance and progress. With the complementation of science and technology and mutual assistance of resources, the railway will also make progress in the development, and finally pave a world railway transportation route map.
Now the 'the Belt and Road' has become a trend. The opening of each international railway line will bring a new round of development opportunities to countries and regions along the line. All industries should embrace this new era with new development ideas and work together to create a win-win situation. With the cooperation with the South Asia Railway, our railway is also constantly 'upgrading' and speeding up. We believe that the 'South Asia International Freight Train' will become the 'star product' of international freight in the 'the Belt and Road' strategy, and will also drive common economic development to benefit people.