Beijing: China-Europe freight trains have made nearly 120,000 trips, according to figures announced at the second China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum held Tuesday in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the trains have transported nearly 12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods and now serve 232 cities in 26 European countries as well as more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, said Guo Zhuxue, chairman of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., at the forum’s opening ceremony.

As a flagship project and a landmark brand of the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Europe freight trains have built a comprehensive logistics network across Eurasia. The value of goods transported by China-Europe freight trains reached 426.4 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2024. From 2013 to 2024, the value grew by about 33 times, with the trains’ share in China-Europe trade rising from 0.4 percent to 8.5 percent, according to a report released at the forum.

Themed “Connecting Asia and Europe for a Shared Future,” the one-day forum was hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the General Administration of Customs, China State Railway Group, and Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government. Experts, entrepreneurs, government officials, and representatives of international organizations from home and abroad attended the opening ceremony. The event featured three parallel forums focusing on efficient and safe transport, the development of diversified corridors, and innovative and integrated development.