A decade of success mirrors city’s renaissance as a freight train service links nations, cultures

A panorama of the Xi'an Guojigang Railway Station in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Nov 28, 2023. (YUAN JINGZHI / FOR CHINA DAILY)

In 2006, when Anita Jumekenova arrived in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, as an 18-year-old from Kazakhstan to study Mandarin, she never imagined that her fate would become so intricately linked with the 3,000-year-old city.

In Xi’an, she not only met her future husband, but also founded a successful company, the Silk Road City, with him. Now, the cross-border e-commerce enterprise is thriving in Xi’an, which Jumekenova considers her second home.

“My career is here, my home is here, and my son even has household registration here,” she said.

In 2022, her company exported Chinese-made goods worth 100 million yuan ($14 million), mainly to Kazakhstan, while it imported 31 million yuan worth of agricultural products from Kazakhstan, Russia and elsewhere.

Jumekenova’s journey into cross-border e-commerce began in 2007, when she started helping people in her home city of Karaganda in Kazakhstan procure household daily necessities from China.

“I mailed the goods directly to Karaganda. The packages took at least a month to get there,” she recalled. “A dress bought in summer would arrive in autumn.”

In 2015, the slow delivery process prompted a change in strategy, when she began using the Chang’an China-Europe freight train service, which links Xi’an with destinations in Central Asia and Europe.

Train No X8489, a China-Europe freight train, leaves for Russia from Xi'an Guojigang Railway Station in Xi'an on March 23, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Compared with direct mailing, the freight train service is not only more cost-effective but also much faster. Jumekenova’s company can now deliver goods across Central Asia and Russia three to 10 days after an online order is placed.

The Chang’an train service, departing from or arriving in Xi’an, stands out as the most bustling of the 86 routes of the China-Europe freight train service — a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Since the service was launched in November 2013, the Chang’an trains have undertaken more than 20,000 trips, accounting for about a quarter of the total trips across all 86 routes traversed by the China-Europe freight trains.

In 2023 alone, the trains have averaged 14.7 trips a day, with one train departing or arriving in Xi’an approximately every 100 minutes on average. This distinction makes the station the busiest in the country in terms of the China-Europe freight train service.

“The China-Europe Railway Express provides a new choice for international logistics in inland countries in Central Asia,” said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of the Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co.

The cost of using the China-Europe freight trains is approximately 20 percent that of air transportation, while the journey time is about 25 percent that of sea transportation, according to data from the China State Railway Group, the national railway operator.

More than 60 global top 500 companies and more than 200 of China’s top 500 companies use the service, according to Yuan.

The China-Europe freight train service, including the Chang’an route, links more than 110 Chinese cities with 217 cities in 25 European countries, as well as more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries and regions.

The efficiency of the Chang’an trains has seen Jumekenova’s cross-border e-commerce venture soar to new heights. 

Reflecting on the company’s journey, Jumekenova recalled filling a container in March 2017. 

That container held about 200,000 items, including electronics, small household appliances and cellphone accessories, with a total value of approximately 60 million yuan. At times, Jumekenova’s company dispatched an entire train, consisting of 50 containers, in one go.

The success story extends beyond the company itself. With over 50 employees in China and Kazakhstan, the company has become a source of livelihood for many.

Kuzdeubaev Asylbek Usenuly, a manager at the Kazakhstan unit, earns 300,000 Kazakhstani tenge ($650) in monthly salary, a significant income for a resident of Almaty.

Jumekenova’s business also provides better access to affordable, high-quality Chinese goods to people in Kazakhstan, while businesses in Kazakhstan can tap into the vast Chinese market through her company.

A China-Europe freight train loaded with containers is ready to depart from the Xi'an Guojigang Railway Station in Xi'an and head for Germany, on Nov 28, 2023.(PHOTO / XINHUA)

For instance, Agrofirma, a leading agricultural company in Kazakhstan, exports animal fodder to China through Jumekenova’s company, via the returning Chang’an trains.

Additionally, more than 2,000 young people in Kazakhstan have partnered with her company, earning commissions by creating and sharing online videos.

Influencers such as Eseeva Dana Sabirovna, who has more than 3 million followers on Instagram, find success by livestreaming products for the Silk Road City platform.

Looking ahead, Jumekenova wants to develop SRC Shop, her company’s cross-border e-commerce platform, into Kazakhstan’s premier e-commerce platform. 

The prosperity of Jumekenova’s company aligns with the growing trade ties between China and Kazakhstan.

In 2022, the volume of railway cargo between the two countries reached 23 million metric tons, a 20 percent rise from 2021. Moreover, the total trade in goods between China and Kazakhstan reached $31.17 billion during the year, up 23.6 percent from the 2021 level.

“China-Europe freight trains have opened a ‘gateway to the sea’ for Kazakhstan,” said Kyraubayev Zhoshykhan, Kazakhstan’s consul general in Xi’an.

As the efficient transportation options bridge the 3,000 kilometers between China and Kazakhstan, a growing number of Chinese companies are expanding their business horizons beyond national borders.

A station worker gives instructions to a crane operator loading containers on a China-Europe freight train in Xi'an on April 16, 2023. (LIU XIANG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Xi’an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group, an enterprise established in 1934, completed construction of Kazakhstan’s largest oil processing plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons, in the north of the country in late 2016. The group has also secured 100,000 hectares of land for transnational contract farming in the area.

With the China-Europe Railway Express, the group can now transport wheat or flour from Russia or Kazakhstan in seven days, a significant improvement from two months by sea, said Ye Xiayun, director of the group’s general office.

Xia Dong, deputy director of the office, said, “Thanks to the freight train, our company can now import a more diverse range of products, from grains to snacks.”

In a significant shift, the Chang’an trains, which once departed with full loads and returned empty, have achieved a more balanced dynamic between exports and imports.

This pivotal transformation occurred in March 2016, when the Aiju group for the first time filled a train for the return trip from Kazakhstan with 2,000 tons of oil.

In 2022, the total number of trips made by the Chang’an trains was 4,639, with outbound and inbound trips being nearly equal.

Jumekenova’s company also made strides toward achieving a similar balance. In March 2022, it celebrated a milestone as the first return train, fully laden with animal feed from Kazakhstan, arrived at the Xi’an station.

Anita Jumekenova from Kazakhstan visits the station for business purposes in February. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The cargo carried by the Chang’an trains has evolved over time, embracing a more diverse range of goods.

A decade ago, the primary exports were bulky machinery and equipment. However, today, the focus has shifted to high-end products such as new energy cars and solar panels. Imports now predominantly consist of high value-added items such as cars, automotive parts, and wine, according to Yuan.

One of the most notable recent endeavors involves the transportation of photovoltaic components. Since early August, 60 trains have been dedicated to carrying nearly 3,000 containers of PV components to Uzbekistan for a 1-gigawatt PV project.

The initiative is expected to generate 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, reducing carbon emissions by 2.4 million tons, according to the China Energy Engineering Corp, the project contractor.

On March 7 last year, the Chang’an trains initiated a “culture class” freight line to North Kazakhstan. The special shipment included products crafted using China’s intangible cultural heritage techniques.

The success of the Chang’an trains can be seen as a revival for Xi’an, which was known as Chang’an in ancient times and served as a starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

More than 2,100 years ago, it was from Chang’an, then China’s capital, that an envoy embarked on a mission of peace and friendship to Central Asia, laying the foundations for the Silk Road.

The historic route facilitated the global exchange of Chinese silk, tea and porcelain, while bringing back spices, glassware, furs, fruit and precious stones.

Reflecting on this rich history, President Xi Jinping proposed the concept of building an “economic belt along the Silk Road” during a visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013.

A month later, in Indonesia, he introduced the idea of constructing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. When combined, the proposals evolved into the Belt and Road Initiative.

Over the past decade, more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have embraced the BRI framework, ushering in nearly $1 trillion of investment, creating around 420,000 jobs along its routes and lifting almost 40 million people out of poverty.