On the afternoon of May 5, the sun was shining in the international port area of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and the Kazakhan boy Akinhan Begerov was excited on the construction site. The groundbreaking ceremony of the station project of China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade and Logistics Co., Ltd. is being held here. In the near future, it will become an important cargo distribution base for Kazakhstan in China. As an employee of Harbin Railway Express Joint Stock Company (hereinafter referred to as "Harbin Railway Express"), Ajingham witnessed this long-awaited moment.

"With this station, China's logistics exchanges with Central Asian countries have an additional 'base camp'." "China and Central Asian countries are cooperating more and more closely, and the China-Europe Express has woven a 'golden network' of cooperation between China and Central Asia. ”

"Steel camel caravan", busy with traffic

"This is the latest price for a 40-foot container in Kazakhstan", "The container has arrived at the Khorgos customs in China", "This logistics scheme involves a new route, I am still confirming with my colleagues" ... Before 9 a.m., before Ajingham arrived at the office, he began to work on his mobile phone, answering various questions from Chinese customers one by one.

As the senior manager of logistics sales of Harbin Railway Express China Xi'an Branch, Ajinghan's main job is to provide logistics services for China-Europe trains to many places in Europe and the Middle East through Kazakhstan for Chinese customers. Update container prices to customers at any time, "keep an eye on" on the customs clearance and reloading process of goods, handle matters related to cargo customs declaration and approval, and communicate the feasibility of new logistics solutions with colleagues... Just two weeks after arriving in Xi'an, Ajingham has quickly adapted to the "anytime online" work model.

"I can personally feel that the logistics business volume of China-Europe trains undertaken by our company is increasing rapidly. We call, email, and video conference with our colleagues in Kazakhstan every day, and our mobile phones are always busy. Akinham said.

Ajinhan's busy work is inseparable from the deepening of logistics cooperation between China and Kazakhstan. In recent years, China and Kazakhstan have cooperated in building a logistics cooperation base in China-Kazakhstan Lianyungang and opening up new railway lines; The dry port of the "Khorgos - Dongdaemun" special economic zone was put into operation; Kazakhstan creates a large logistics infrastructure around the Caspian Sea that meets international standards ... Thanks to the continuous promotion of cooperation in the logistics field between China and Kazakhstan, the China-Europe Express runs more smoothly between China and Kazakhstan.

According to official statistics from Kazakhstan, in 2022, the railway freight volume of China and Kazakhstan reached 2300 million tons, a record high. In the first quarter of this year, the volume of goods transported between China and Kazakhstan exceeded 700 million tons. According to official Chinese data, by the end of 2022, the cumulative number of China-Europe trains had exceeded 6,5, transporting more than 600 million TEUs of goods and a cargo value of US$3000 billion. There are 82 China-Europe trains in operation, of which China-Europe trains passing through Central Asia account for nearly 80% of the total number of routes. The China-Europe Express "Steel Camel Team" has connected the logistics network between China and Central Asian countries, and also brought economic and trade opportunities from countries along the "Belt and Road" to Central Asia.

"Kazakhstan is a transport and logistics hub in Central Asia. The China-Europe Express not only connects the logistics network between China and many European countries, but also allows goods from countries along the route to be 'assembled' in Kazakhstan and transported to other Central Asian countries, enriching the markets of Central Asian countries and deepening economic and trade ties in Central Asia. Akinham said.

The wallet is bulger, and the smile is sweeter

"Many of my colleagues are railway engineering graduates, and they were mainly involved in the construction of Kazakhstan's railways, and now they are mainly engaged in work related to China-Europe trains. I have an intuitive feeling that as the China-Europe Express business becomes busier and busier, everyone's work income is getting higher and higher. Ajingham said that the appeal of the China-Europe Express is reflected in the many subtleties of life.

After coming to Xi'an, Akinham was attracted by the new energy vehicles driving on the streets. "Recently, I came into contact with some lithium battery and new energy vehicle logistics orders shipped from China to Kazakhstan, and our company is exploring new logistics solutions that meet the requirements of international transportation of lithium batteries. It is foreseeable that in the future, more and more new energy vehicles will appear on the streets of Central Asian countries. The rail transportation of new energy vehicles and related parts will definitely be a big deal for us. "I expect Kazakhstan to gradually popularize new energy vehicles." At that time, I will also buy a cool new car. ”

With its advantages of fast timeliness and low cost, the China-Europe Express has become a new choice for China's new energy vehicles to "go overseas". Ajinhan's intuitive experience is a vivid "micro-lens" of China-Europe Express connecting economic and trade exchanges between China and Central Asia. According to statistics, in 2022, China's trade volume with Central Asian countries reached a record high, exceeding $700 billion for the first time. China's exports to Central Asia totaled US$423.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 43.3%; Imports from Central Asia totaled US$278.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35.8%. In the first three months of this year, China's trade volume with Central Asia increased by 3% year-on-year, maintaining a strong momentum of development. China has been the largest or major trading partner of Central Asian countries for many years in a row.

From the export of construction machinery, agricultural machinery products, irrigation equipment, new energy vehicles to the import of edible oil, wheat, flour, mung beans, medicinal materials, etc., the "list" of import and export trade goods in the direction of China and Europe Express in China and China is dazzling.

Flour and cooking oil from Central Asia have become fragrant buns on the tables of Xi'an citizens; China's agricultural machinery exports to assist local farmers in sowing and harvesting seeds on farmland in Central Asia; Wheat from Kazakhstan arrived on the Vietnamese market in less than 10 days ... As Ajingham felt, the China-Europe Express not only weaves a grand logistics network covering Europe and Asia, but also enriches the "grocery basket" and "shopping cart" of Chinese and Central Asian people, and also makes many Central Asian young people engaged in China-Europe Express related industries like Ajingham have bigger wallets and sweeter smiles.

Accelerate forward, full of horsepower

Recently, Ajin Han has been busy wandering around Xi'an's major business districts, looking for new office locations for the company.

"Xi'an Merchants Silk Road Center, Midwest Dry Port Financial Town, Xi'an China Railway Center of Excellence... These newly built office buildings in the Xi'an International Port District are very modern and beautiful. Akinham said.

In 2005, Akinham came to China for the first time as an international university student and spent one year studying in Xi'an. After 1 years, Akinhan returned to Xi'an again, the modern infrastructure of the international port area, the huge container terminal, storage yard and logistics park, and the opening policy of building the China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone all made him feel the broad prospects of China's promotion of the "Belt and Road".

Today, the construction of the China-Europe Express (Xi'an) assembly center is showing great vitality. The center has opened 17 trunk routes from Xi'an to Central Asian countries, where goods from countries along the "Belt and Road" and 29 provinces in China are collected and distributed, playing an important role in deepening cooperation between China and Central Asia and promoting the smooth flow of goods in both directions. The core indicators such as the operating volume, cargo volume and heavy container rate of the China-Europe Express Chang'an have ranked among the top in the country for many years. In the first quarter of this year, the Changan opened more than 1100,40 trains, a year-on-year increase of <>%.

"In the future, Xi'an will become an important node for China-Europe trains to transport goods to all parts of China. Our company also plans to expand the scale of the Xi'an branch, expand the logistics business in China, and seize the opportunity of the China-Europe Express to accelerate forward. Akinham said.

During the China-Central Asia Summit, Ajingham participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of the China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade and Logistics Co., Ltd. terminal project, which once again witnessed another milestone in China-Kazakhstan logistics cooperation. "After the construction of the station, the logistics exchanges between China and Kazakhstan will be more efficient and convenient, and the economic and trade exchanges between China and Central Asia will be smoother and faster." Arkingham is full of pride.

Not only that, the China-Central Asia Summit also drew a blueprint for the development of China-Europe trains. The Xi'an Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit pointed out: All sides stressed the need to consolidate the important position of Central Asia as a transportation hub in Eurasia, accelerate the construction of the China-Central Asia transport corridor, develop China-Central Asia-South Asia, China-Central Asia-Middle East, China-Central Asia-Europe multimodal transport, including the China-Kazakhstan-Turkey-Iraq (Lang) transit corridor, and trans-Caspian sea transport routes passing through the ports of Aktau, Kurek and Turkmenbashi, so as to give full play to the transit transport potential of Termez City.

"This part of the Declaration is closely related to the development of our China-Europe express logistics industry. I feel the confidence and determination of China and Central Asian countries to jointly promote connectivity. The China-Europe Express is full of horsepower, and we are even more energetic. Akinham said.

Gao Qiao (Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)