The 600th Qilu China-Europe freight train of this year departs Jinan. [Photo/qlwb.com]

Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, was included in the list of China's areas involved in the third round of the EU-China Regional Policy Cooperation, according the National Development and Reform Commission.

Jinan is connected to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the north, to the Yangtze River Delta in the south, and Japan and South Korea across the sea in the east.

The city has in recent years been making efforts to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and has become a major hub city for China-Europe freight trains.

To date, more than 1,000 China-Europe freight trains have departed from the city. The number of trips has grown by over 150 percent in the last three years.

The number of China-Europe freight train routes in the city currently stands at 12. These routes are linked to around 46 cities in 19 countries.

In 2020, Jinan's imports and exports to the European Union reached 18.25 billion yuan ($2.86 billion), up 33.9 percent year-on-year.

In the first three quarters of this year, imports and exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 46.41 billion yuan, up 27.4 percent and accounting for 33.4 percent of the city's total foreign trade.