According to government documents exclusively obtained by the Epoch Times from credible sources, the Chinese administration has paid subsidies to maintain and develop the operation of freight trains connecting China with Central Asia and Europe. Experts said the railroad would allow China to build ties with other nations to separate it from the United States.
“The Chinese administration maintains a fragile economic system in preparation for a potential separation from the United States by using freight trains to export more products to Europe and Central Asia,” he said. Tan Jin Yuan, a Chinese issue commentator based in China, said. I told the Epoch Times on May 4th.
By 2020, trade between the United States and China will reach 4.06 trillion yuan (about $ 62.14 billion), which will account for 12.6 percent of China’s foreign trade. Official data..
During the US-China trade war in 2019, the United States is the second largest importer of Chinese products, $ 418.5 billion The Ministry of Commerce of China reported that the goods were worth and suffered a trade deficit of $ 295.8 billion.In 2018, when the trade war began, trade between the United States and China $ 633,520 millionThe ministry reported that China enjoyed a trade surplus of $ 323.33 billion, accounting for 13.7% of China’s total foreign trade.
Canrong Jin, one of Beijing’s top US-China relations specialists, also said China is creating a new business circle because it anticipates a potential separation from the United States.
The leaked document obtained by The Epoch Times emphasized the importance of Trans-Eurasia Logistics, the railroad linking China with Central Asia and Europe. These documents were issued by the Northern Hebei Province Government, Baoding City Government, and Changchun City Government of China.
Trans-Eurasia Logistics, also known as the China Rail Express (CR Express), was launched in March 2011 and is an important part of the administration’s Belt and Road Initiative (also known as BRI, One Belt, One Road). It ships goods from more than 40 cities in China to about 90 cities in more than 20 countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Italy, bringing great trade benefits to Beijing.
“From June 2020 to today, more than 1,000 trains have transported freight in the BRI region. CR Express is an excellent tool for stabilizing China’s foreign trade,” said the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (Cabinet level). Post On that website on April 20th.
Government subsidy
Exclusive documents show that the Chinese government has calmed down and created this prosperous rail transport.
The Hebei Provincial Government released an internal document on March 5, developing the 10 most important tasks in Hebei Province. Foreign trade is one of the tasks and CR Express is an important tool.
“”[Each government] Policies for subsidizing international freight trains need to be researched and developed. [We must] Stable operation of trains to Central Asia and Europe, further development of trains to other cities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN], And maintain a transportation channel for foreign trade, “the document said.
A series of government documents from Baoding, Hebei, referred to CR Express. Baoding used trains to sell products to Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.
According to a document issued by Baoding authorities on June 29, 2017, the city exported $ 2 billion worth of goods worth 250,000 metric tons to Belarus and $ 1.2 billion worth of 150,000 metric tons of goods to Lithuania. Helps to export goods. ..
According to the document, the train helped the city develop BRI projects, including hospitals in Lithuania and industrial parks in Minsk, Belarus and St. Petersburg, Russia.
“The space of the Belarusian Industrial Park in China is 91.5 square kilometers. [35.33 square miles], Equivalent to one-third of the total area of Minsk … It is the largest industrial park operated abroad by China and has the best investment policy. This is the largest co-investment between China and Belarus and is also a major BRI project, “the document states.
Then websiteThe official name of the park is Great Stone, and Chinese companies with factories in the park sell their products to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) or the former Soviet Union countries.
The Hosada government explained in the same document that the Chinese administration plans to export materials to Minsk and assemble products there. This will reduce costs and generate more profit.
Authorities in Changchun, the capital of northeastern Jilin Province, have issued a document claiming that most of the CR Express trains are operated by state-owned enterprises and rely on state subsidies. [transportation agents] I can’t collect enough orders to return the goods from Europe to China. “
China State-owned China Business Journal report On July 27, 2019, China Railway requires 41 containers for each freight train, and most of the CR Express trains are not fully loaded. “Approximately 20 percent of the outbound train containers are empty,” the report quoted Urumqi Railway Bureau staff.
There are more empty containers on the up train. “Sometimes only one of 41 containers [of an inbound train] The report quoted staff from the China Railway Headquarters in Beijing.
The next federation, which is the organizer of the Chinese summit and a partner of the state media Xinhua and the Chinese economy, Release An article on December 20, 2020 states, “Local governments pay about $ 3,000 per container for every CR Express train.”
According to the report, in Europe and Central Asia, goods cannot be collected, so many cities need to find a way to handle empty containers, and the cost of returning empty containers to China is the cost of new containers. It will be higher than making.
According to the report, some city governments subsidize 1 billion yuan (about $ 154.47 million) annually, while others subsidize 1 million yuan (about $ 154,470) per train. I will pay.
The report commented that CR Express was a device of the Chinese administration that undermines US maritime hegemony because the administration believes it can change the world’s supply chain by creating competitive transportation channels. Did.
by Official dataWhen shipping one container, the shipping cost of CR Express is 25% of the cost of shipping by flight. The duration of a CR Express trip is about 33% of a sea trip. Based on the websites of some global shipping services, CR Express takes three times as long as an airplane and twice as expensive as a ship to transport a container.
Preparing for decoupling
Canrong Jin, Professor and Vice Dean of the School of International Studies, Peking University, talked Potential US-China decoupling in a video posted on YouTube on June 22, 2020.
Mr Jin said US-China relations are deteriorating.
“The United States could be separated from us in economics, technology and education,” Jin said. “I predict that the United States and China will become more strategically hostile after the pandemic. At that time, the United States will be separated from China.”
After that, Jin talked about solutions, including “establishing a business circle without the United States,” such as doing business with countries in “Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.”
Chinese expert Tang Jingyuan reviewed government documents and stated: “It is clear that the Chinese administration wants to use this rail project to build new trade channels between Europe and Central Asia. At the same time, the project will allow Beijing to have closer economic ties with these regions. Opens the door that allows you to build. “
Analyzing the motivations behind the railroad, Tang believes that China is preparing for a potential separation from the United States and has realized its ambition to become the world’s largest economy.
“We believe that the Chinese administration is working diligently with Europe, which could make the combination economically stronger than the United States, and the Beijing authorities would eliminate Europe and become a leader. You will find a way to become. “