The steel rails departing from Kashgar are extending inch by inch into the mountains of Central Asia; A series of "steel camel caravans" departed from Xi'an and Guangzhou, shuttling through the Eurasian continent at a steady pace. In 2026, the Silk Road corridor stretching for thousands of miles will usher in a new sprint for the beginning of the year amidst the roar.

At the beginning of the new year, a China Europe freight train loaded with electronic products set off from Zengcheng West Station in Guangzhou, heading towards Poland. On the same day, trains from Wuhan headed towards Copenhagen, Denmark, while trains from Xi'an headed towards Azerbaijan.

In 2025, the China Europe freight train will operate approximately 34000 trains and send 3.17 million TEUs throughout the year. The goods it transports have shifted from early daily necessities to high value-added products such as automotive parts and machinery.

Steel artery crosses mountains and seas

The core breakthrough of infrastructure construction along the the Belt and Road in 2026 is to fill the key gaps. The China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway, known as the Century Project, has entered a critical construction phase. In April 2025, the construction of three controlled tunnels, including the Ferghana Mountain section within the territory of Qiji, will begin, marking the entry of the project into substantive construction. This railway will for the first time open up a direct railway channel from China to Central Asia and West Asia, transforming Xinjiang from a terminal to a hub.

In Southeast Asia, the golden channel effect of the China Laos railway continues to release. Yunnan has issued a three-year action plan, with the goal that by 2027, the total cumulative freight volume of China Laos railway will reach more than 110 million tons.

As the first project of China's high-speed railway system to go global, the Yawan high-speed railway has been operating safely for two years and has sent over 13 million passengers.

From 'passable' to 'passable'

The construction of the channel is only the first step, and improving efficiency has become the new theme. The China Europe freight train is improving quality and efficiency by adding routes and enhancing customs clearance efficiency. At the beginning of 2026, the number of operating routes of the "Middle Passage" centered around the Erenhot Port has increased to 75. Customs in various regions have shortened the stay time at train ports from 24 hours to less than 4 hours through measures such as appointment clearance and data interconnection.

The deeper transformation lies in the innovation of rules and patterns. Xi'an has been approved to carry out a pilot reform of railway waybill property rights, endowing waybills with financial and credit functions, aiming to solve the problem of cross-border trade financing.

China Laos Railway actively explores convenient customs clearance modes such as one place, two inspections. Kunming is accelerating the construction of the China Europe (Asia) freight train assembly center to improve organizational efficiency.

From 'Channel Economy' to 'Industrial Economy'

The ultimate goal of infrastructure is to catalyze regional development. The goal of China Laos Railway is to promote the transformation of channel economy into industrial economy. Yunnan plans to create characteristic industrial belts around railways, such as building advanced manufacturing, biopharmaceutical and other industrial clusters in Kunming. This effect is more significant in Xinjiang. With the smooth passage of channels, the total import and export value of Xinjiang's foreign trade exceeded the annual level of 2024 in the first 11 months of 2025.

As a newly established comprehensive pilot city for expanding the opening up of the service industry, Xi'an has been assigned the task of regularly operating the Xi'an Almaty cultural tourism train, promoting the deep integration of economic, trade and cultural exchanges.

From project to system

The construction of the the Belt and Road is upgrading from a single flagship project to a three-dimensional interconnected network system. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is moving towards a 2.0 upgraded version that focuses on industries, agriculture, and mining. Xi'an is supported to participate in the construction and operation of ports, warehouses, and other facilities in the Trans Caspian International Transport Corridor, and to explore the integration of rules for multimodal transport. This collaboration enhances the resilience of the entire network. When the China Europe freight train forms a multi-channel pattern of south, center, and north, it no longer relies on a single route, effectively dispersing risks.

From Alashankou in northern Xinjiang to Mohan Port in Yunnan, and from Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, to the Jakarta Bandung high-speed railway on Java Island, a network of interconnectivity between the Eurasian continent, with infrastructure as the backbone, rules and standards as the meridians, and mutual benefit and win-win as the blood, is becoming increasingly clear. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, China Europe Express

In 2026, when a series of trains are speeding on the new line, they are carrying not only goods, but also the expectations of the areas along the line for shared development opportunities.Editor/Cheng Liting