April 09, 2020

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) – China carried out a strings of measures to stabilize foreign trade and investment by giving full play to the operation of China-Europe freight train amid the COVID-19 epidemic, according to a recent circular released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), reported the Xinhua-run cnstock.com Tuesday.

Priority will be given to securing sufficient freight trains capacity to support enterprises in resuming work, production, and foreign trade amid the epidemic.

Exports of supplies needed in the fight against the epidemic, including medical care products, production materials, and daily necessities, are encouraged to be transported via the freight trains to Europe, the circular said.

The freight train operators are encouraged to carry out business cooperation with cross-border e-commerce enterprises, while local commerce and customs departments should also jointly ensure the operation and customs clearance efficiency of the freight trains.

Efforts will be taken to the cold chain logistics business and multimodal transport of the freight trains. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the epidemic prevention and control of the train operators to ensure operational safety.

The institutional innovation of China-Europe freight trains in the Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), such as corporate transportation, should be extended to all cities that have launched the freight train services, while various supporting policies of the freight trains should also be applied to local foreign-funded enterprises.

The circular stressed that enterprises should pay close attention to early warning and consultation of trade restrictions in countries along the China-Europe freight train routes amid the epidemic.

In supporting the resumption of work and production of local enterprises in Wuhan, the hardest-hit city of the epidemic, priority would be given to  ensuring the transportation of materials in such industries as auto parts, machinery and equipment, and optoelectronic products. (Edited by Jiang Feifan wit Xinhua Silk Road, 346129473@qq.com)