Delegation of Kazakhstan Journalists Visited Hefei International Land Port Development Company

In September, 2013, the “Belt and Road” Initiative was put forward for the first time at Nazarbayev University by President Xi Jinping during his state visit to Kazakhstan. It marked a new era for the development of the cooperation between China and Kazakhstan on the BRI projects. About six years later, on April 11, 2019, a delegation of journalists from 14 Kazakhstan news outlets accompanied by the staff of China’s Embassy in Kazakhstan paid an on-site visit to Hefei International Land Port Development Company, with the purpose of conducting a research on the running state of China-Europe Railway Express and the status of implementation of the BRI in Anhui Province. It’s believed that this visit will enhance the communication and interaction between two countries, and help people of Kazakhstan form a better understanding of Hefei, capital city of Anhui.

The delegation toured around Hefeibei Railway station, the starting station of Hefei-Europe Railway Express, with great interest. They also took a detailed look on the exhibition boards, which introduced them to the history, present status and future plans of the express.

The first Hefei-Europe Railway Express was launched on June 26, 2014. Since then freight trains from Hefei to Kazakhstan have been running on a regular basis: 13 trains set off to Kazakhstan in 2014, 16 in 2015, 12 in 2016, and 8 in 2017. On January 6, 2018, Hefei International Land Port Company formally opened. It is a state-owned company committed to providing logistics services for the improvement of economic exchanges between enterprises in Anhui and Kazakhstan. After the establishment of Hefei International Land Port Company, the number of freight trains departing from Hefei to Kazakhstan has increased rapidly, amounting to 35 in 2018, including customized trains for some of the most famous local enterprises in Anhui, such as Jianghuai, Ankai and Chery. The rapid and high-quality growth continues in 2019. By the end of March, 2019, the Land Port Company has sent 24 trains to Kazakhstan, carrying 2344 TEU in total, which increased by 335.7% compared with the same period last year. A Hefei-Almaty weekly express was newly opened, two additional rail routes (Hefei-Astana and Hefei-Kustanay routes) were put into sevice specially for domestic enterprises, and new international railway multimodal transport services between Dostyk and other Kazakhstan cities (Solokwaya, Alamegin, Zhilaevo and so on) were launched not long before.  Thanks to Hefei-Europe Railway Express, more and more “made in Anhui” products become accessible for Kazakhstan consumers.

At the meeting with company officials, a Kazakhstan journalist asked if there are any Kazakhstan goods carried back to Hefei by the Railway Express.

“In accordance with President Xi Jinping's instructions at the First China International Import Expo and decisions of Hefei Industry Investment Group, we will accelerate the pace of establishing a supply chain management company,” said one of the officials. “Kazakhstan has some unparalleled geographical advantages which should be made full use of: its fertile territory, spreading across both Asia and Europe, is suitable for many kinds of crops, and its natural resources are abundant. Therefore we definitely will purchase high-quality agricultural products and resources intensive products from Kazakhstan in the near future. We will also continue working to achieve normalized operation of Hefei-Kazakhstan freight train, promote the development and prosperity of trade between China and Kazakhstan. We hope that unique products from Kazakhstan can be enjoyed by more and more citizens of Hefei. “