Xinjiang's border port handles record China-Europe freight trains in H1

Horgos Port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region handled 3,057 China-Europe freight trains in the first half of the year, up 52.5 percent year on year, ranking first among the railway ports in the country.

Aerial photo taken on June 3, 2021 shows cross-border e-commerce packages being transported to Kazakhstan from Horgos, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Gu Yu)

The total rail freight volume in Horgos, China's closest port to Central Asia and Europe by land transport, reached 4.29 million tonnes, up 66.8 percent year on year, customs figures showed.

Seven new China-Europe freight train routes passing through the port opened this year, bringing the total number of freight train lines through the port to 28.

Wei Chunguang, a customs official, said household appliances, chemical products and daily necessities were the main export items, and the exports of automobile accessories and electronic components are gaining growth momentum.

There has been a steady increase in imports, such as auto parts and cotton yarn, from Central Asia and Europe on return trips by the cargo trains, Wei added.