On the afternoon of May 10, a freight train loaded with 100 TEUs departed from the Nanjing Freight Center, marking the opening of the new railway transport route connecting Nanjing of China and Tilburg of the Netherlands.
2021年5月10日，随着一声轰鸣的汽笛声，满载100个标准集装箱货物的中欧班列“江苏号”从南京货运中心尧化门货场鸣笛出发，标志着江苏省“中国南京-荷兰蒂尔堡”远欧线路首发开行。
"I think it's a very important step, because it adds a new mode of transportation," Wim Geerts, Ambassador of the Netherlands to China said to Hello Jiangsu. "We already have good air connections, we have good sea connections, and now we're adding the railway. We think it can really facilitate business between Jiangsu and eastern part of China and the Netherlands."
荷兰驻华大使贺伟民在接受采访时表示，江苏和北布拉邦省已经在空运和海运上已有密切联系。中欧班列的开通能够有力促进江苏乃至中国东部与北布拉邦省之间的贸易往来。
This freight train carries goods including anti-epidemic supplies and new energy auto parts, with a total value of nearly 42 million yuan. The train will travel more than 11,500 kilometers and arrive in Tilburg in about 20 days, which is half the time spent on transport compared with ocean shipping.
此次新线开通得到了中铁上海局集团、省交通运输厅、省商务厅、南京市商务局、南京海关及荷兰有关部门的大力支持。新线开通后，将进一步满足南京及周边地区进出口企业物流运输需求，提供更加便捷高效的国际物流新通道。此趟班列运载防疫物资、新能源汽车部件等货物，总货值近4200万元，班列将行驶11500余公里，历时约20天抵达荷兰蒂尔堡，比海运节省一半时间。
"On the basis of cooperating with freight train enterprises, we have established a booking mechanism for the whole process of customs clearance to improve customs clearance efficiency and fully serve the development of international freight trains," said Zhou Ming, Vice Director of Xinshengwei Customs.
南京海关所属新生圩海关副关长周明介绍到，新生圩海关在主动对接班列运营企业的基础上，也建立了通关全流程预约办理机制，提高通关效率，全力服务国际铁路货物班列发展。
As the latest result of the sister relationship between Jiangsu and Noord-Brabant, the freight trains from Nanjing to Tilburg are expected to further boost the business relations of the two provinces.
“中国南京-荷兰蒂尔堡”远欧线路的开行，是江苏推进“一带一路”交汇点建设，服务构建新发展格局的重要举措，也是江苏与荷兰北布拉邦省缔结友好省州27年的最新成果，将进一步推进双方经贸合作往来，助力我省“走出去、引进来”高水平双向开放，推动形成中欧贸易新的增长极。
As of 2020, the Netherlands became the largest destination for Chinese investment and the second largest FDI investor to China in the EU. The country's direct investment flow to China also ranked first among EU countries last year.
Jiangsu Province is the largest trade partner of the Netherlands in China. In 2020, the total import and export trade volume between Jiangsu and the Netherlands accounted for 20% of China's total trade volume.
据悉，截至去年，荷兰成为中国在欧盟内第一大投资目的地和第二大引资来源地。去年全年荷兰对华直接投资流量也在欧盟国家中位居首位。
江苏是荷兰在华最大的贸易合作伙伴，2020年江苏与荷兰进出口贸易总额占到全国的20%。
