A bullet train drives in Jiaohe City, northeast China's Jilin Province, Jan. 26, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Wang Haofei)
It is a century-old dream to build an immerse network of railways that connects all the important cities of Asia and Europe. Now the dream is becoming a reality, faster than one dares to believe.
Forbes on Thursday published an article saying that China's Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project of connectivity and win-win cooperation proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is "sparking a renaissance for trans-continental rail transport."
"In all, more than twelve Chinese and nine European cities are now hubs for these 12,000+ kilometer trans-continental direct trains," the article said.
The railways have quickly become an important factor for attracting business and investment. "It seems now every sizable city in China is vying to have their own China-Europe direct train," the article observed.
As these trains are mostly shipping high value added merchandise, it is no coincidence that most of them originate from cities like Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, and Suzhou, which all have very large and kinetic high-tech zones.
Products can now be shipped overland to and from cities in China and Europe in nearly a quarter of the time it takes to send them by sea, at a cost that's upwards of 65% less than shipping by air.
While 30 to 60 days for ocean freight is acceptable for most industries, there is a growing fringe. In the high-tech and high-end fashion sectors or companies who need essential equipment for their day-to-day operation, they want their products as fast and as cheap as possible.
"Previously, trans-Eurasian freight forwarding was caught in logistical conundrum: slow and cheap or fast and expensive. Now there is a third option," the article said.
