CHONGQING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- China-Europe freight trains to and from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have made more than 1,000 trips as of Wednesday, up 12 percent for the same period last year.
On Wednesday, a train carrying laptops, printers and liquid crystal displays left Chongqing for Duisburg, Germany, becoming the 1,001st train to shuttle between the Chinese metropolis and European or Central Asian cities.
The China-Europe rail service is considered a significant part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Chongqing started the rail cargo service to Duisburg in 2011.
In the first half of this year, the total value of goods transported by the trains to and from Chongqing went up 47 percent year on year to around 37 billion yuan (about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars).
While shipping Chinese goods such as laptops, mobile phones and integrated circuits abroad, the trains bring back commodities, including imported automobiles, food, and mother and baby products, from Europe and Central Asia.
China-Europe freight trains have played a crucial role in helping with the global fight against the COVID-19 epidemic as massive quantities of medical supplies were sent through them to affected countries and regions.
According to the China State Railway Group, during the first half of 2020, anti-epidemic supplies totaling 3.67 million items and weighing 27,000 tonnes were sent through freight trains. Enditem
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