Yixinou is a unified brand of international railway freight trains in Zhejiang Province, specifically referring to cross-border freight trains departing from Yiwu or nearby Jinhua, leaving the country via Alashankou in Xinjiang to European countries. In the past 9 years, the number of Yixinou trains has exceeded 7,000, and more than 500,000 TEUs of goods have been shipped, with a freight value of more than 100 billion yuan. Due to Yixinou's outstanding performance in Sino-Western economic and trade relations, on March 9, China and Spain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The home commemorative activities were also held in Yiwu and Madrid.

Huang Wei, train driver of the Yixin Europe-China Railway Express: The China-Europe Railway Express travels more than 13,000 kilometers from Asia to Europe to Madrid. We have to change 65 train drivers halfway. I am the first one, and I am also the last one. Why is it the last stick? Because the China Railway Express coming back from Madrid is sent to the customs through my driving to complete a process of the entire China Railway Express. As a train driver, I am very proud to be engaged in this profession, because I can personally participate in China's Belt and Road construction.

Huang Wei recalled that when he drove the first China-Europe train, he did not have much experience. In his opinion, it was an ordinary train. But later, he consciously tried to understand the significance of the Belt and Road, and discovered that the China-Europe train What an important role it plays in the Belt and Road Initiative. Huang Wei said: During the three years of the epidemic, the chain of goods was broken. It is not only an economic artery, but also a channel of life.

The types of goods carried by Yixin Ouban Express are mainly small commodities at first, and gradually cover high-value high-tech products such as photovoltaic components, automobiles and accessories, high-end machinery and equipment, and smart phones. In the first two months of 2023, the countries and regions with the largest number of outbound trains and TEUs are the five Central Asian countries, followed by Belarus and Russia, and Spain ranks fourth. On the return train, the number of trains and TEUs from Madrid back to Yiwu exceeded that of the outbound train, which shows that China's imports of goods from EU countries are increasing significantly.

Luis Calvo, Consul General of Spain in Shanghai, said in an interview: Yixin Europe China Railway Express has great potential, and the challenge we face in the future is to strive to maintain trade balance. China Railway Express will become more and more important. He believes that in the globalized economic system, E-Xinou will shorten the distance between different markets and commodities, and all of these will also drive infrastructure construction. The China Railway Express is running on the right route. For railway transportation, the best times are still ahead. Recently, sea transportation is declining, which brings opportunities for railway transportation. We will not hesitate to increase the trade links between us in the future and hope we can go both ways to do so.

The China Railway Express has a new journey every year. Between the Eurasian continent, it is like a golden ribbon, closely connecting countries along the route, promoting economic, trade and investment exchanges between Asia and Europe, and at the same time promoting people-to-people bonds.Editor/Ma Xue