China-Europe rail trade imbalance growing due coronavirus, demand for PPE

China Railway Express, a key rail project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, operated a record 11,000 trains across Eurasia by early November

China continued to run a large trade surplus with the European Union in the first 10 months of year, indicating that westward shipments remain much larger

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In 2019 overall, the European Union’s trade imbalance with China stood at a deficit of US$218 billion, meaning that there was more demand for westbound services. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:00am, 18 Nov 2020Updated: 7:37am, 18 Nov 2020

The coronavirus may have pushed China’s freight shipments to Europe via rail to record highs, but far fewer trains have returned with European products, according to data from China’s state railway operator and external analysts.

By early November, China Railway Express, a key rail project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, had operated a record number of more than 11,000 trains across Eurasia compared to 8,225 in the whole of 2019.

In the first half of the year, it operated 5,122 trains, up 36 per cent from a year earlier, according to the state-owned China Railway.

However, the booming rail service – propelled by rocketing sea freight fees and surging demand for personal protection products to combat the coronavirus – has proved mostly one-way from China to Europe, widening the gap between westbound and eastbound trains and increasing concerns over the service’s financial viability.

According to Jet Young, a counsellor for China Communications and Transportation Association, around 40 per cent of the total journeys in the first half of the year were between China and Russia, and among the rest, some 2,000 trains headed to the European Union, while only 900 trains returned to China.

China continued to run a large trade surplus with the European Union in the first 10 months of year, indicating that westward shipments remain much larger than eastbound trade.