Hungary established a multinational joint venture company to specialize in China-Europe trade logist
December 14, 2021,Hungary CER Cargo Holding SE、Russia RZDL Europe Kft and the Hungarian subsidiary of the Austrian Railway Freight Group Rail Cargo Hungaria Zrt A memorandum of cooperation on the establishment of a joint venture was signed in Budapest for the transportation of goods between China and Europe in Budapest.
It is reported that the administrative and operational preparations for the establishment of the joint venture are in progress. The joint venture will provide freight forwarding and logistics coordination services for shipments of Chinese goods to southern Europe and the Balkans via Hungary and Russia. It is expected to start operations in the first half of 2022.
At the signing ceremony, Finance Minister Mihály Varga stated, the establishment of a freight hub in Záhony on the eastern border of Hungary is of great significance. Europe is of "strategic importance" as a bridge between Eastern countries and the EU. The finance minister added that the upgrade of the Záhony freight hub and the railway line connecting Budapest and Belgrade will make Hungary a "key player" in the trade of goods between East and West.
Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics said, Priority will be given to the development of railways in the next few years, and without a well-functioning railway network, emission reduction targets cannot be achieved. Rail transportation is environmentally friendly, sustainable and safe to transport, The development of clean and energy-saving railway transportation can not only serve the entire national economy, but also play an important role in climate and nature protection. Green transportation is also conducive to improving the competitiveness of freight transport.
In 2021, the epidemic is still going on and the world economic recovery is sluggish, but China-EU economic and trade cooperation has grown strongly against the trend, becoming a warm current in the global cold wave. From January to October this year, the trade volume between China and the EU reached 670.4 billion US dollars, which has exceeded the total trade volume of last year, with a year-on-year increase of 30%.Over the past few years, the Belt and Road Initiative has increased China-Europe railway freight traffic tenfold. As a European country that signed a cooperation document with China to jointly promote the "Belt and Road”, Hungary, located in the hinterland of Europe, is not only an important transportation hub in Central and Eastern Europe, but also an important logistics distribution center and transit center for many Asian countries, including China, to enter the European market. At present, China is still one of Hungary's largest trading partners. In order to meet the growing China-Europe railway container transportation, the Hungarian government actively develops railway transit transportation, accelerates the construction of logistics infrastructure, and ensures the smooth transmission of railway transportation across the country.
Information and picture source: Hungarian Union News