Trial of trans-border road trip a concrete step of B&R initiative
Nine heavy-load trucks from China, Mongolia and Russia departed on Thursday from the Tianjin Port in North China's Tianjin as part of a trans-border trial run.
The trial run, jointly organized by transport authorities in the three countries, is intended to integrate the development projects of the three countries to further develop trade ties with bordering countries.
It's also part of the implementation of the China-proposed "One Belt, One Road" initiative, according to a press release from China's Ministry of Transport.
The trucks will travel 2,152 kilometers. First they'll stop in Erenhot, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, then continue to Ulan Bator in Mongolia. The trial will end in Ulan-Ude, capital of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia.
The trial run will help optimize regulations and standards on trans-border road traffic among the three countries and promote trade facilitation, said the Ministry of Transport.
Traditionally, Chinese trucks making the run had to unload their containers in Erenhot. But now they can cross the border and deliver goods to clients based in Mongolia and Russia.
Guo Xin, general manager of Nanning Xinjinhang Logistics Co, owns one truck from the caravan. His company, with 130 heavy-load trucks, has so far mainly dealt with transport business linking South China with Southeast Asian countries.
"Ulan-Ude can be an ideal market to sell some high-value added goods such as fresh produce and electronic products. For trips back to China, we are eyeing Russian beer and fish from Lake Baikal," Guo told the Global Times Thursday.
These goods are time-sensitive and road freight is several times cheaper than air transport and trucks can deliver goods to the customers' factory gates, Guo said.
In July, China became the 70th country to ratify the UN's Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention, the global standard for international freight customs transit. Joining the TIR is set to boost transport and trade with TIR-operating countries and regions around China, including Mongolia and Russia.
TIR Convention will come into force in China in January 2017.
Dmitry Cheltsov, general delegate to the IRU Permanent Delegation to Eurasia, said harmonization of border-crossing procedures means a lot to logistics operators.
"Transit times will be reduced significantly, and this will be immediately reflected in the cost of the goods delivered by the trucks," Cheltsov told the Global Times Thursday.
