The first train linking Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province and Madrid in Spain is put into operation after an inauguration ceremony held in Yiwu, the world's largest wholesale market for small consumer goods on November 18, 2014. （Photo: China News Service/ Zhu Zhijun）
The regional government of the northern Spanish region of Aragon and the Chinese city of Yiwu signed on Monday an agreement to maximize the benefits of the Yixinou freight train, which links the Chinese city and Madrid, the capital of Spain.
The President of the Government of Aragon, Javier Lamban, and the chief of Yiwu, Sheng Qiuping, have signed this agreement to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
Sheng Qiuping has proposed to make good use of the return trip of the train from Madrid to Yiwu shipping commodities. Sheng explained that the last return trip to Yiwu carried red wine, olive oil and Spanish juices and "soon we run out of them because they arrived just before the celebration of the Spring Festival."
The president of Aragon, Javier Lamban, highlighted: "China has a great potential and, therefore, we want to collaborate with their projects," adding that "the cargo airport of Zaragoza is one of the most important in southern Europe and we are improving connections with ports from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean sea".
The two have highlighted the similarities between Aragon and Yiwu. Zaragoza, which is the capital of Aragon, and Yiwu are two important logistics cities due to its strategic geographical location and, therefore, they want to "establish closer relations and strengthen exports."
The agreement signed today by Sheng Qiuping and Javier Lamban includes the possibility that in the future, the Yixinou freight train stops at Zaragoza.
Sheng Qiuping explained that it is the only railway line linking China with Europe that is operated by a private company. In addition, he noted that on Jan. 28 this year a railway line from Yiwu to the Iranian capital, Tehran, was opened, which then will come to Europe.
The Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Spain, Chen Yuming, was also present at the signing of the agreement and encouraged all entrepreneurs of Aragon to "get the maximum benefits" of this rail line.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of China, Spain is the sixth largest trading partner of China within the European Union (EU), and China is the largest trading partner of Spain outside the EU. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2014 stood at 27.7 billion U.S. dollars.
