"I am very happy to work with China Railway Express. It's a new business compared with ships and other traditional transportation modes," she expressed her palpable interest in this job.
The rapid development of China Railway Express has brought more business opportunities to DBO Bahnoperator GmbH (DBO), which was established in November 2017 in Duisburg to offer services to trains travelling between China and Europe.
Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative to European logistics companies and helping them transport their goods to China through China Railway Express is the job of Anastasiya Sizikova, an employee of DBO. "The Belt and Road Initiative makes it possible for me and my colleagues to do this interesting job and to know more about Chinese culture. I think we're doing something very important -- helping European companies do business with China through scheduled rail transports promoted by the Belt and Road Initiative," said Sizikova.
Duisburg is an epitome of China Railway Express's rapid development. By August 2018, a total of 10,000 trips have been made by the company, reaching 43 cities in 15 European countries. The trains have transported a great variety of goods, including wine, auto parts, mechanical equipment, and petty commodities, boosting trade between China and Europe and enriching the lives of Chinese and European people. China Railway Express has not only boosted the logistics in Duisburg, but also improved relevant supporting services.
According to an official with the Duisburg municipal government, it is China Railway Express routes that have connected Duisburg with China, strengthening Duisburg's position as a European logistics hub and promoting its influence in international economic and trade cooperation. Now more and more Chinese companies choose to invest in Duisburg, creating huge potential for cooperation.
"Chinese companies have built an 18-storey hotel in Duisburg. Huawei and other Chinese companies have set up operations or branches here. A Chinese company has contracted a lighting project in Duisburg." Johannes Pflug named Chinese companies that were expanding their presence in Duisburg with amazing familiarity. Moreover, a modern warehousing and logistics facility by China Investment Corporation has been established. This so-called "Logicor" project covers an area of approximately 60,000 square meters, he said.
"Logicor's warehouse and logistics facilities are important to us. It is our largest asset in Germany," said an executive of the assets management team of Kuehne & Nagel, one of the largest freight forwarders in the world.
The number of Chinese citizens living in Duisburg has doubled in the past eight years, and more than 100 Chinese businesses had been set up here. With the largest number of Chinese students in Germany, the University of Duisburg-Essen has established a Confucius Institute. As more and more Chinese begin to work and study here, Asian fast food restaurants offering authentic flavor have opened in Duisburg. Just as Major Soren Link put it, Duisburg is now Germany's Chinatown.
Inside the Duisburg Museum, visitors can still hear the hubbub of workers in a recording, which dates back to strikes in the 1980s and early 1990s due to the closure of steel plants. Outside, visitors can also hear the loud talks, which are made, however, by workers in the trains from the far-flung Oriental country. (Contributed by Zhu Sheng, edited by Li Haoran, Yang Yifan)
