State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang alongside five Central Asian Foreign Ministers attending the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting visited the Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park and attended the launching ceremony for the Chang’an Train from Xi’an to Central Asia, Chinese embassy in India informed in its press release.
The launch of Chang’an Train commemorates the 10th anniversary of the China-Europe Railway Express and the Belt and Road Initiative. Minister Qin outlined plans to jointly build the Belt and Road and called for constructing a Cultural Silk Road, strengthening multilateral coordination.
The China-Europe Railway Express assembly center in Xi’an has 17 mainlines from the city to Central Asia countries.Goods from the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route and 29 provinces in China are collected and distributed in Xi'an, which plays an important role in deepening cooperation between China and Central Asia.
Chang’an Train’s number of trips, volume of cargo, ratio of laden containers and other core indicators rank the top in China for several consecutive years.
The special train from Xi'an to Central Asia, which carries over 260 new energy vehicles made by BYD Auto in Xi'an will arrive in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 12 days. The new energy vehicles account for 14% of total Chinese output; they are distributed internationally and are particularly popular in Central Asia.
According to Xinhua news agency, during the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang announced that the China-Central Asia Summit will be held in May 2023 in Xi'an, China.