Suez Canal blockage spurs transportation debate

Rail route

However, there are alternatives for transporting goods between China and Europe.

The China-Europe freight train service, launched by China, has acted as a carrier for the Belt and Road Initiative in boosting trade exchanges between more than 60 domestic cities and major European countries, according to Xinhuanet.

Liu Mingming, deputy director of the administration department at Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment Co, which operates Europe-bound freight trains in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, said the service is reasonably priced and highly efficient. Since the pandemic emerged, it has become an important alternative to transporting goods by sea or air.

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of YXE Group, operates YXE container trains.

Zhou Shihao, founder and CEO of YQNLink, a global intelligent logistics platform based in Shanghai, said rail freight charges between China and Europe are usually 50 percent higher than those for sea freight. Charges have remained stable during the pandemic.

Rail services are preferred by customers willing to pay more to transport high-value-added products with improved efficiency, rather than sending them by sea, Zhou said.