First container train links China to Middle East

HANGZHOU, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A container train linking China and Iran departed from Yiwu City in east China's Zhejiang Province loaded with Chinese small commodities on Thursday morning.

According to the train's operator, Yiwu Tianmeng industry investment company, it is the first regular container train linking China to the Middle East.

The train will exit China through Alataw Pass in Xinjiang, the westmost Chinese region, and pass through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan before reaching its destination Tehran.

Company president Feng Xubin said it will take the train 14 days to complete the 10,399 kilometers journey.

Catering to the Belt and Road Initiative, the train is expected to further promote China's cooperation with Middle Eastern countries.

Yiwu is a famous production base for small commodities and it has been keeping close foreign trade ties with countries in the Middle East.

There are currently about 4,000 Middle Eastern businessmen living in Yiwu and more than 180 companies set up by Middle Eastern investors. The city witnessed 58.3 billion yuan (8.8 billion U. S. dollars) of exports to the Middle East in 2015.