BEIJING : China on Sunday launched its first freight train to London, the China Railway Corporation said. Departing from Yiwu West Railway Station in eastern Zhejiang Province, the train will travel for about 18 days and more than 12,000 kilometers before reaching its destination in Britain, according to China Daily.
Yiwu is known for producing small commodities, and the train mainly carried such goods, including household items, garments, cloth, bags and suitcases. It will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before arriving in London.
London is the 15th city in Europe added to China-Europe freight train services.
The service will improve China-Britain trade ties, strengthen connectivity with western Europe, while better serving China's Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure and trade network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes, the China Railway Corporation said.
The railway is a major strategic development to assist Xi Jinping's multi-billion dollar 'One Belt, One Road' strategy, according to the China-Europe Freight Rail Development Plan released in October.
The strategy was launched in 2013 and is an infrastructure and trade network connecting Asia with Africa and Europe along old Silk Road trading routes.
While China is already operating train services to several cities in Europe, London is the most recent one. China is one of Britain’s largest trading partners and considered one of the top destinations for British goods. Chinese outward investment to Britain has also doubled in the last few years.