A China-Europe freight train returns to Xi'an International Railway Port from Germany, July 10. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By WANG Xiaoxia

Recently, a batch of auto parts from Thailand entered China through the cross-border China-Laos Railway, and then quickly proceeded to Budapest in Hungary via the China-Europe freight train services from the Chengdu International Railway Port in southwest China.

The cross-border rail services have vastly improved logistics efficiency. Compared with the traditional combination of sea freight and land freight, the combination of the China -Laos Railway and China-Europe freight train services can save 15 to 20 days in transport time and reduce costs by more than 20 percent.

Thanks to the collaboration between the two railway services, the goods in transit need to be declared only once to clear customs, instead of the multiple declarations in the past, according to Liu Liang, deputy commissioner of Qingbaijiang Customs in Chengdu.

Using the Chengdu Customs logistics monitoring integrated management platform, enterprises can complete all procedures with only one customs transit. The large container inspection equipment conducts "non-invasive" inspection without opening the containers, improving the efficiency of intermodal logistics, Liu added.

To date, more than 73,000 China-Europe freight trains have carried 6.9 million TEUs of goods, reaching 216 cities in 25 European countries, according to the China Railway. The improved services guarantee stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, and have injected a strong momentum into the economic and social development of the countries along the Belt and Road.