Grand plan

The China-Russia rail link is an important component of a grand plan for expanding freight services between China and Europe. This goal was initiated in 2011 and is considered a significant part of the Belt and Road under the plan to increase trade between China and the countries participating in the initiative.

According to a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission in July, China has allocated 200 million yuan ($28.3 million) from the central budget to support the construction of transportation hubs in five cities: Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an and Urumqi. The work is being undertaken to improve the efficiency of the transportation network for the China-Russia and China-Europe freight services.

Oleg Belozyorov, president of Russian Railways, said the freight train from China traveled 1,300 kilometers a day on its way to Moscow, taking less than five days to arrive at the station in the Berelast center from the Russian-Mongolian border,

"This creates a huge advantage for Russia in international cargo transportation," he said, adding that the rapid development of the Russian logistics center will increase efficiencies while reducing the cost of freight coming from China.

In July, the center handled 5,700 twenty foot equivalent units of freight. That number is expected to reach 700,000 TEU a month in the future, he said.