A cargo ship carrying eight bullet trains equipped with both electricity and internal combustion engines departs from the Dagang Branch of Qingdao Port. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A cargo ship carrying eight bullet trains equipped with both electricity and internal combustion engines recently departed from the Dagang Branch of Qingdao Port, a unit of Shandong Port Group (SPG), and were headed for Chile.

This is China's first batch of exported high-speed trains that are equipped with both electricity and internal combustion engines. As a significant hub port for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), SPG has once again posted an excellent performance through helping Chinese-made products go global with its efficient, convenient and beneficial services.

In recent years, China has consistently promoted high-standard opening-up and delivered fruitful results to boost BRI cooperation. Located at the intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, SPG serves as the most important, convenient and economical shipping outlet in the Yellow River basin. It also serves as a logistics channel for Shandong province to stabilize foreign trade, ensure smooth operations and boost economic growth. All these aspects have made SPG an important link to help BRI construction.

Since its establishment on Aug 6, 2019, SPG has made incremental progress in its cargo throughput, with an annual increase of 100 million metric tons for four years in a row. In 2022, its cargo volume exceeded 1.6 billion tons and its container volume surpassed 37 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), ranking first and third, respectively, across the globe. It has opened 327 sea shipping routes, ranking first in China's northern ports by route number and density. On land, it has opened 82 train routes and 32 inland ports. Its sea-rail combined transportation capacity exceeded three million TEUs, ranking first in China for several consecutive years.

Loading the bullet trains onto the ship was met with numerous difficulties and challenges. Qingdao Port effectively overcame handling difficulties such as inadequate stowage plans and challenging onboard circumstances to guarantee the successful delivery of the bullet trains. The eight bullet trains, each weighing more than 50 tons, could be loaded successfully in eight hours, according to the company.

Moving forward, SPG plans to serve and integrate into national strategies in a more active way, consistently improve its service quality and management level, and improve cooperation with various partners to help more Chinese companies expand in overseas markets and promote the high-quality development of China's economy.