Between March and June 2018, 55 express trains left Russia, of which 49 arrived at the Chengdu terminal, the China Internet Information Center (china.org.cn) reported. Marginal for the moment, in comparison with the import activities of Chinese ports, the imports of logs by rail are currently around 20,000 m3 per month and of a value of 40 million yuan. These are mainly logs of Russian origin.
The Belt and Road project, pushed by the Chinese government to rebalance the country’s economic activity to the west, offers new business opportunities, especially in the capital of Sechouan, Chengdu.
The train facilitates the direct import of cars, but also recently wine from southern Germany. Potentially, the way is open to other trade, but it seems the European oak logs do not yet go to China by train.
In the course of this year, the China-Europe express train has opened dedicated timber lanes between Chengdu and Russia, opening a new path for the timber trade, which further ensures the development of the South West Wood Trade Center, china.org.cn reports.
Chengdu is an important trading center in southwestern China, this is also true for the timber trade, which used to go through cities such as Zhangjiagang, Guangzhou, etc., and finally to Chengdu. These connections and the long transport times are now replaced by the efficiency and speed of the express, which makes the wood travel directly via its containers.
The Chinese media presents Debaijia, a Chinese a company specializing in international trade that handles import of timber. Wang Qinguo, president of this company, speaks of the positive contributions of the Chengdu-Russia express and emphasizes that instead of importing wood through border towns like Manzhouli, the express allows his company to do the same thing without intermediaries. This reduces freight costs, and especially guarantees better quality timber.
The western terminus of the new Silk Road is the Rhine at Duisburg. About thirty trains arrive every week, loaded with clothes, toys, electronic equipment. Only one container out of two is currently full, including German cars, French wine (or German) Italian textiles. Destination: Chongqing, Wuhan, Yiwu. For now, the rail is twice as expensive as the boat, but arrives more than three times faster (12 days against 45 days). Air freight is twice as expensive as rail and reduces delays to 5 days. The aim of the rail actors is to reduce the duration of transport to less than 10 days.
The Belt and Road works both ways, but not really for wood or processed products. The case of Decathlon, however, is eloquent to understand the logistical implications of the development of this axis. Previously, trucks came to pick up shipments from China via the railroad to Duisburg, Germany.
Like a connection between Shijiazhuang (300 km from Beijing) and Moscow, commissioned recently, imports of Russian wood go hand in hand with exports to Russia, to Moscow, of industrial products made in China.
In short, China is expanding its web. And in the same way as for shipping, China’s hunger for wood is fueling log exports. Even if the current cost of rail freight remains unacceptable, it remains an option for the future.
