Many Chinese products ordered through e-commerce channels can now be delivered overnight in Europe thanks to the Europe-China freight trains and local warehouses such at the one from Qxbox Technology Warehousing in Madrid, Spain. Departing from their point of origin in Guangdong province, many items are first transported overland to a distribution hub in Xian, capital of Shaanxi province. They then head to Spain via the Chang’an China-Europe freight trains. “Before 2017, it took more than 40 days to transport goods by ship, but freight train services help cut the time in half and at a lower cost,” said Mou Jinwen, Chairman of Qxbox. About 2,000 years ago, in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), a Chinese envoy named Zhang Qian began his expedition to the western regions and opened up a trade route that later became known as the Silk Road. In 2013, China put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since then, the China-Europe freight train service was launched, becoming modern-day “steel camel caravans” linking 108 Chinese cities with 208 European cities in 25 countries.
Qxbox has worked with local delivery companies and built four warehouses around the world. The one in Madrid covers an area of 12,000 square meters, handling an average of 6,000 orders per day. Buyers can receive their packages within two days. Moreover, by cooperating with e-commerce platforms like Amazon and AliExpress, it provides overseas customer service, after-sales repair, returns and exchanges to domestic companies. Diego Cimadevilla, Managing Director of Qxbox’s subsidiary in Spain, noted that the competitive edge of freight train services lies in sustainability, stability and security. Meanwhile, Spanish products also have access to the Chinese market, which is both quick and cost-effective. According to a report by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), the value of China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached CNY2.1 trillion in 2022, marking an increase of 7.1% compared with 2021.
The Xian International Trade and Logistics Park, where Chang’an China-Europe freight trains depart, has attracted many foreign trade enterprises and logistics suppliers. One such e-commerce firm is Weiju Fanxing Global Cross-border Live Broadcast Base, set up in the Xian International Trade and Logistics Park, where nearly 80 live-streamers from home and abroad perform 50 live-streaming sessions every week, selling products to overseas customers. “The base’s parent company has branches in Shanghai, London and Los Angeles. As we began to focus more on overseas markets, we decided to set up a cross-border live-streaming center in Xian as the city’s Chang’an China-Europe freight train service helps us have easy access to a complete supply chain and low-cost international delivery services,” said Wang Fang, who is in charge of the base. In 2022, Chang’an China-Europe freight trains made 4,639 trips, 198 of which were dedicated to cross-border e-commerce business, an annual increase of over 60%. It covers locations producing goods in Asia and Europe, like Mannheim, Germany; Prague, the Czech Republic; and Milan, Italy, with 17 international routes, the China Daily reports.
