A new freight route between China and Serbia has started operating. The route connects the Chinese province of Hebei with Serbia’s capital Belgrade. The train service aims to increase connectivity between Europe and China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Freight trains running on the newly established route will take twenty days to reach their destination. Trains will depart from the dry port of Shijiazhuang, the capital city of China’s Hebei province, and travel over 10,000 kilometres to Belgrade.

Belt and Road Initiative

According to China’s Xinhua press agency, it is the first rail freight service connecting Hebei and nearby Tianjin and Beijing with Serbia. The route is supposed to provide logistics support for “in-depth cooperation” within the framework of BRI. The rail route to Serbia can also facilitate economic exchanges between China and other BRI participating countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The first train on the route departed on 21 March and is carrying freight worth nearly 3 million dollars. Among the freight are mechanical equipment and car parts.

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