The China Railway Express (Xiamen) is an important route connecting the Silk Road Economic Belt to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

The China Railway Express (Xiamen) offers an important passage for unimpeded trade between China and Europe, with nearly $2.4 billion of goods transported since it was launched in 2015, local media outlets reported on Aug 17.

Statistics show the number of trips made by the China Railway Express (Xiamen) amounted to 132 in the first half of the year, increasing by 31 percent year-on-year. The total volume of goods shipped reached 11,608 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) during the January to June period, an increase of 90 percent year-on-year.

The China Railway Express (Xiamen) was launched in August 2015, which is an important route connecting the Silk Road Economic Belt to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Supported by the Xiamen government, the express railway has grown into a new national logistics channel for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to stimulate trade between China and economies related to the initiative. It has played an important role for Xiamen in improving its business environment, as well as helping the city set up a new development pattern to bolster domestic and foreign markets.

Over the past five years, the China Railway Express (Xiamen) has opened three regular routes to Hamburg in Germany, Central Asia, and Russia. It has made 804 trips as of Aug 15, carrying 62,090 TEUs of goods valued at $2.4 billion, according to statistics.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have reduced land and air routes, leading to a sharp increase in freight volume on the China-Europe Railway.

Customs and railway authorities in Xiamen have introduced a series of measures to ensure the normal operations of the China-Europe rail line, including setting up green channels and offering quicker customs clearance, which have helped international logistics channels and supply chains remain stable.