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China-Europe freight trains make over 10,000 trips this year

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The China-Europe freight train service made its 10,000th trip this year as the train X8015 started its engine and headed for Duisburg, Germany from Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province on the last day of August, carrying auto parts, electronic products, daily necessities and anti-pandemic materials.

Statistics showed that China-Europe freight trains made 10,030 trips in the first eight months this year, sending 964,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 32 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Loaded containers accounted for 97.9 percent of the total.

“The China-Europe freight train service is on a robust growth,” said the director of the Freight Transport Department of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

According to him, China-Europe freight trains have made over 1,000 trips in each of the past 16 months, and the monthly number of trips has been kept above 1,300 since May this year. The service has made positive contributions to stabilizing international industrial and supply chains and promoting the “dual circulation” development pattern.

The 10,000-trip milestone this year arrived two months earlier than that a year before. Behind such performance were optimized management, improved efficiency, and expanded handling capability of ports.

“We have constantly optimized our working procedure, shortened the time of transshipping,  improved efficiency, and made good use of digital platforms,” said Gao Qiang, deputy director of the cargo-loading workshop of the train station in the border city of Alashankou, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Over 4,000 China-Europe freight trains have passed the Alashankou port his year, he added.

Since the beginning of 2021, the ports in Alashankou and Khorgos of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Manzhouli of north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region have successively launched expansion and upgrading projects, which has significantly improved the handling capacity for China-Europe freight trains.

The west, central and east routes of the China-Europe freight train service witnessed a year-on-year growth of 37 percent, 15 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in the number of trips made by China-Europe freight trains from January to August this year.

Besides, railway authorities also collaborated with port supervisors to facilitate customs clearance and improve customs clearance capability and efficiency, which effectively reduced the time of shipment.

Wang Bo, senior logistics manager with LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., the world’s most valuable solar technology company, introduced that the company is now seeing halved transportation time and reduced warehousing cost thanks to a freight route tailored by the railway department specifically for photovoltaic products.

“China-Europe freight trains have significantly counteracted the impacts from COVID-19 for enterprises and become a regular logistics channel for our deliveries to European clients,” Wang said.

Since this year, local railway departments have enhanced communication with foreign trade enterprises to learn their logistics demand, and issued targeted plans of transportation.

Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan province, had its 10th overseas station of the China-Europe freight train service after a train arrived in it from Italy’s Milan this July. In June this year, a new freight route was opened between Wuyishan, southeast China’s Fujian province and Russia’s Moscow, integrating the Chinese tea production center closer into the Belt and Road. Northern China’s Shanxi province also launched its first freight routes to Paris and Turkey’s Mersin this summer, facilitating the transportation of dozens of commodities such as metal products, agricultural produce and electromechanical devices.

So far, the China-Europe freight train service has opened 73 operation routes to some 170 cities in 23 European countries, carrying over 50,000 types of cargos. It has facilitated synergetic production in and outside China, lowered logistics cost for enterprises, and offered support for the economic and social development of the Belt and Road countries.

The China-Europe freight train service is a manifestation of China’s major country responsibility for what it has done to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic – transporting anti-pandemic materials as soon as possible and as many as possible.

According to the Freight Transport Department of the China Railway, anti-pandemic materials have been taken as a priority by the China-Europe freight train service. Since the pandemic broke out, China-Europe freight trains have transported 12.8 million anti-pandemic items weighing 99,000 metric tons to European countries, making positive contributions to international anti-pandemic cooperation.

“The China-Europe freight train service will still in a high demand as the Chinese economy recovers stably,” said the director of the department.

By Lu Ya’nan, People’s Daily

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Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America

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The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.

 

On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.

 

The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.

 

While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.

 

VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.

 

The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.

 

Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.

 

The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”

 

Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.

 

As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.

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Judge blocks Trump from deporting non-citizens using wartime law

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A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.

US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.

Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.

The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.

The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.

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China’s new chapter in global innovation

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By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily

At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.

Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.

In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.

China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.

Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.

Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.

Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.

Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.

Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.

In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.

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