A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday.
On the same day, a train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu.
The commemoration trips came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. The freight train service between Yiwu and Madrid has facilitated trade between the two countries.
The train service from Yiwu to Madrid was officially launched in November 2014, spanning eight countries in Eurasia with a total length of more than 13,000 kilometers.
Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, said the train service from Yiwu to Madrid has become the fastest-growing one with the largest freight volume. I believe it will become a model of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as one of the biggest driving forces for the continuous growth of China-Europe trains.
"China-Europe trains has taken the advantage of railway. I think it's up to us to discover new possibilities," said Luis Calvo, Consulate General of Spain in Shanghai.
By 2022, China-Europe freight trains had made 1,326 trips between Yiwu and Madrid, carrying more than 100,000 standard containers of goods, according to Yiwu Customs. From 2014 to 2022, Yiwu's trade with Spain increased from 400 million U.S. dollars to 870 million U.S. dollars, local customs data showed.
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