“重庆为开放合作提供了广阔空间”

On March 21， a China-Europe Railway Express freight train （Chengdu & Chongqing） loaded with automobiles and electronic products was leaving Tuanjiecun Railway Station， Chongqing for Duisburg， Germany. It takes 16 days to arrive in the destination.

Twenty-six diplomatic envoys to China， 13 of whom are ambassadors， from European， Asian， and African countries and regions including Portugal， Albania， Laos， and Nigeria， were watching this train fade out of their sights.

Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs had invited them to visit Chongqing from March 20 to March 22. As a “Mountain City” in China， Chongqing impressed these guests a lot with advanced manufacturing， transportation logistics and also in many other respects.

“Though as an inland city， Chongqing has built a transportation layout so well-connected to the world and a state-of-the-art transportation system， which is very astonishing.” said Duarte Pinto Da Rocha， Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Portugal in China. He added that some people may have heard of it or read about it in books， but the experience was totally different when seeing it in person.

In 2022， more than 5，000 trips were made by the China-Europe Railway Express freight train （Chongqing & Chengdu）. The number of trips handled by the two cities has topped 22，000 since its launch， accounting for 30% of that of the whole country.

Besides this westward corridor to Europe， Chongqing also boasts southward channels linking the city with Southeast Asia， namely the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and China-Laos Railway.

China-Laos Railway kicked off its operation in December 3， 2021， with Chongqing among the first batch of cities that launched the China-Laos international freight train service. On the first day of 2023， Chongqing sent a batch of made-in-Chongqing NEVs to ASEAN countries via this channel.

Khouanchay Iemsouthi， Counselor at the Embassy of Lao PDR in China， keenly recognized the importance of the China-Laos Railway， emphasizing that the railway not only contributes to Lao economy but also benefits other ASEAN countries.

“Since its operation a year ago， there have been so many achievements that were beyond our expectation” said Khouanchay. Now most products shipped by ASEAN countries are agricultural products， but more goods are expected to be shipped via this way.

By the time of December 3， 2022， when the China-Laos Railway marked its first anniversary， it had opened 24 passenger and freight stations along the line and carried a total of around 11.2 million tonnes of goods and transported 8.5 million passengers， with cargo categories expanding from a dozen to more than 1，200， yielding fruitful outcomes.

Moreover， Chongqing has developed a northward Chongqing-Manzhouli-Russia International Railway Logistics Channel， an eastward channel via the Yangtze River Golden Waterway and the International Aviation Network， contributing to Chongqings major channel options for going overseas. These all-direction channels reach more than 300 cities in over 100 countries and regions across the world.

H.E. Selim Belortaja， head of this delegation and Albanian Ambassador to China， praised the inter-connectivity of Chongqing. “The inter-connectivity of Chongqing in all directions including west， east， north， and south， provides great space for opening-up and cooperation. It is also home to many industries involving motorcycles， automobiles， electronics， and so on， which are very inviting sectors for all other countries.”

“It is true what we heard before our visit. Chongqing certainly is a pearl of China in many aspects，” Belortaja said.

Text/Xinhua News Agency

3月21日，在重庆团结村站，一趟满载汽车整车、电子产品的中欧班列（成渝）正缓缓驶离，在16天后到达德国杜伊斯堡。

此刻，目送这趟列车远去的有来自葡萄牙、阿尔巴尼亚、老挝、尼日利亚等欧洲、亚洲、非洲国家和地区的26位驻华使节，其中包括13位驻华大使。

3月20日到22日，外交部组织驻华使节代表团对重庆进行了为期3天的参访，“山城”重庆在先进制造、交通物流等多个方面所取得的成就给驻华使节们留下了深刻印象。

“重庆作为一座内陆城市，交通规划通达世界，铁路、航空、航运等系统如此发达，十分让人惊讶。”葡萄牙驻华大使馆公使衔参赞荣斌诺表示，可能一些人对此有所耳闻，或是在书上看到过，但是亲眼看到感觉还是不一样。

2022年，中欧班列（成渝）全年开行超5000列。成渝两地累计开行中欧班列超2.2萬列，开行量约占全国30%。

除了通往欧洲的西向通道，重庆也能通过南向的西部陆海新通道、中老铁路等和东南亚国家相连。

中老铁路于2021年12月3日全线建成通车，重庆是第一批开行中老铁路国际班列的城市之一。2023年首日，重庆通过中老铁路，向东盟国家运送了一批“重庆造”新能源汽车。

老挝驻华大使馆参赞宽赞·燕素提对中老铁路给予了高度评价，认为这条铁路不仅对老挝经济社会发展发挥了重大作用，而且还惠及其他东盟国家。

“中老铁路正式通车运营一年多来，许多数据都超出预计。”宽赞表达期许，现在东盟国家出口到中国的产品大部分是农产品，不过未来出口产品的品种有望进一步增加。

截至2022年12月3日，中老铁路正式通车运营一年，全线开通24个客货运站，累计发送旅客850万人次、货物1120万吨，货物品类从10多种拓展至1200多种，交出了一份亮眼的成绩单。

在重庆开放通道体系中，还有北向的“渝满俄”国际铁路班列，东向的长江黄金水道，以及国际航空网络通道。目前，重庆东西南北四向联通的通道网络，覆盖100多个国家（地区）的300余个城市。

此次参访的驻华使节代表团团长、阿尔巴尼亚驻华大使塞利姆·贝洛尔塔亚对重庆的互联互通水平深表赞许：“重庆已经形成东西南北四向联通的交通格局，为开放合作提供了广阔空间。不仅如此，重庆还拥有摩托车、汽车、电子产品等众多产业，对各方都颇具吸引力。”

“来之前，我就听别人说重庆是中国的一颗明珠。现在看来，这句话不假。”贝洛尔塔亚说。

文/新华社