A train carrying daily goods departs from Yiwu for Moscow on April 17. [Photo/Tide News]

A train loaded with fabric departed from Jinhua in Zhejiang province and reached Erenhot in Inner Mongolia autonomous region on May 18, where it switched to Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) mode toward Russia. This marked the launch of Zhejiang's first "rail-road multimodal transport with TIR" export operation, establishing a new logistics corridor between central Zhejiang and Moscow.

These expanding logistics options are strengthening Zhejiang's trade with Russia. According to Hangzhou Customs, Zhejiang's exports to Russia totaled 40.15 billion yuan ($5.90 billion) from January to April, a record high for the period and the highest in the country.

Yiwu, known as the world's supermarket, has seen a particularly rapid growth in trade with Russia. From January to April, Yiwu's exports to Russia reached 3.58 billion yuan, up 56.9 percent year-on-year, the highest growth rate in three years. Categories such as clothing, bags, cultural products, and sports goods all recorded growth rates exceeding 80 percent.

This success is backed by an increasingly diverse and efficient logistics system. The "Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe" freight train service saw a 41.1 percent growth in exports to Russia from January to April. This new mode combines the cost advantages of rail transport with the convenience of TIR, reducing both transit time and costs.