On October 3, 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the concept of jointly building the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" in Indonesia. Together with the concept of jointly building the "Silk Road Economic Belt" proposed in Kazakhstan in September, it is collectively known as the "Belt and Road Initiative".

Over the past two years, this initiative has sparked enthusiastic responses. As the initiative gradually takes shape, the destinies of numerous countries and billions of people along the route are becoming more closely intertwined.

To this end, CCTV launched a special report on the Belt and Road Initiative titled "Data Talks about a Community of Shared Future" yesterday, and today broadcast the first episode titled "The Package from afar".

In the opening report "A Package from Far Away", from latex pillows in Bangkok, Thailand, to container terminals in Qingdao; from camel caravans on the ancient Silk Road to the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight trains traversing the Eurasian continent, the construction of the Belt and Road is interweaving the destinies of numerous countries and billions of people along the route more closely.

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The new camel team on the Silk Road that doesn't eat grass: Yixin Europe-China Railway Express

What discoveries did Arab merchants make on the ancient Silk Road more than 1,000 years ago? What changes have the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe Railway, the world's longest transnational freight train route, brought to merchants after 1,000 years? Among the countries along the Belt and Road, which one has the highest customs clearance efficiency, and which one has the slowest? And how does it compare to developed economies? According to statistics from the World Bank in 2015, among the major countries along the Belt and Road, Singapore has the highest import efficiency, taking only 4 days to import a container, while other major trading countries such as India, Russia, and China require about 20 days, and Uzbekistan, the longest, even takes 104 days. The acceleration of trade along the Belt and Road holds great promise.

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Yixin Europe-China Railway Express: A New Camel Caravan on the Silk Road

Over 1000 years ago, Arab merchants discovered that camels could save half of the forage compared to mules and horses for the same distance. As a result, camel caravans became the most economical means of transportation on the ancient Silk Road. Nowadays, the China-Europe Railway Express, which traverses the Eurasian continent, is playing the role of a new camel caravan on the Silk Road.

The Yiwu-Europe freight train departs from Yiwu and exits through Xinjiang, passing through seven countries including Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France, and Spain. With a total distance of 13,050 kilometers, it is the longest international freight train in the world. Compared to sea transportation, its transportation distance and time are significantly reduced.

Yiwu International Trade City, the world's largest small commodity distribution center. Carlos, a Spanish businessman, is selecting popular styles for this autumn and winter season to be shipped to Madrid. Carlos said that currently, goods are transported by train, and the entire railway transportation time is about 21 days, which is 30% shorter than sea transportation.

Clothing, toys, and electronic products made in China are transported by train to Central Asia and Europe, while European cheese, ham, and red wine travel through this route to China, where they are quickly placed on dining tables across China and even Asia. However, the new journey across the Eurasian continent is not entirely smooth at present. Due to the varying widths of railway tracks in the countries along the route, the trains must undergo three track changes in Kazakhstan, Poland, and at the border between France and Spain before arriving in Europe. Guo San, deputy director of the Alataw Pass Freight Workshop of the Urumqi Railway Bureau, explained that the standard gauge in China is 1435 millimeters wide, while the broad gauge in Kazakhstan is 1520 millimeters wide, with a difference of 8.5 centimeters between the two widths.

Transferring tracks, essentially transferring trains, involves using a tower crane to hoist containers from one train onto another. This has become a unique daily scene on the Asia-Europe railway. Throughout the journey, transferring tracks is actually not the most patient-required part. A container may contain thousands of parcels, and the printed cargo manifest can be dozens of pages long. Carlos, a Spanish businessman, said that policies and document formats vary across the seven countries the train passes through. If the train has to stop for inspection, the entire transportation time will be extended.

In addition, international trade also faces the challenges posed by trade barriers. According to the World Trade Organization, there are over 600 technical barriers to trade reported by major countries along the Belt and Road. This not only increases the logistics costs for shippers, but also, in the case of delayed gifts, may even leave children empty-handed on Christmas Eve.

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The Belt and Road trade corridor is poised for rapid development and holds great promise

According to the World Bank's statistics in 2015, among the major countries along the Belt and Road, Singapore has the highest import efficiency, taking only 4 days to import a container, while other major trading countries such as India, Russia, and China require around 20 days, and Uzbekistan, the longest, even needs 104 days. The average customs clearance efficiency of countries along the Belt and Road still lags behind that of developed economies.

Currently, a series of international collaborations aimed at facilitating customs clearance are underway. In the next decade, the total trade volume between major countries along the Belt and Road is expected to surpass $10 trillion. More and more packages and surprises will arrive in your hands along this major trade logistics corridor connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.