The China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area is located in Jiaozhou, Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

A special train carrying transit goods departed from the multimodal transport center of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area on March 14, after Jiaozhou Customs officials cleared the transit transport procedures.

The transit cargos, which were mainly palm oil and other vegetable oils from Malaysia, consisted of 55 carriages of 110 standard containers, boasting a value of about $1.2 million.

The cargo was shipped from Port of Pasir Gudang in Malaysia, transited via Qingdao Port, and transferred to the China-Europe freight train at the multimodal transport center of the Qingdao SCO zone. They will exit via Khorgos Land Port and reach Almaty, Kazakhstan within 20 days.

"We have made comprehensive use of information technology to check the electronic data of the transit transport declaration form that enterprises use to declare goods to customs, without collecting paper documents," said an official from Jiaozhou Customs.

With the accelerated development of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the construction of the SCO zone's "four centers" - international logistics, modern trade, two-way investment, as well as tourism and cultural exchanges, the inbound and outbound services of China-Europe Express services have achieved rapid and high-quality development, empowered by multiple convenient customs clearance and logistics policies.

To date, 19 international freight train routes have been launched in the Qingdao SCO zone, connecting 53 cities and 23 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.