XI'AN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The China-Europe freight train service is transforming global trade, with a growing number of companies using it to integrate into the global supply chain.

In Xi'an, a China-Europe train hub in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the cross-border freight train service is bustling, as businesses leveraging this service go global.

Geely's smart manufacturing car plant in Xi'an, with fully automated production lines, churned out 142,000 vehicles, worth more than 15.7 billion yuan (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars), during the first five months of 2025.

This vehicle output has spurred the growth of 21 parts suppliers, creating a province-wide automotive ecosystem. The plant's location and the train service's efficiency combine to provide a smooth export route for Geely.

Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group has also benefited from the train service. It has set up agricultural logistics and processing zones in both Kazakhstan and China. Since 2015, it has invested in Kazakhstan, becoming the first Shaanxi enterprise to build its planting base overseas.

More and more Kazakh grain and oil products are now on Chinese shelves, thanks to the China-Europe freight train option.

The Aiju healthy life experience center in Xi'an features Central Asian honey, biscuits, ice cream and apple juice. "These products arrive in China via the China-Europe freight train. It boosts international trade and offers new business opportunities," said Wang Fang, Aiju's deputy general manager.

In the first half of 2025, Aiju imported nearly 100,000 tonnes of feed wheat by way of this train service. The company's business model now links orders with joint planting, precisely matching Kazakhstan's flour offerings with Chinese consumers.

On June 10, the Xi'an-Kazakhstan Terminal in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, was officially launched and put into operation. It has upgraded the current connection from a "point-to-point" to a "hub-to-hub" link, making the "full-container-out, full-container-back" circulation model a reality, according to Xi'an International Port Group.

At the Konka smart appliance industrial park, the dishwasher liner production line runs at China Industrial 4.0 standards. "Our sales, products and channels rely on the China-Europe freight trains. Over 60 percent of our products are exported by this train service," said Chen Zhao, general manager of Shaanxi Konka Smart Home Appliance Co., Ltd.

As of June 26, 2025, Konka had made use of 47 special trains, carrying 87 containers containing 229,000 white-goods appliances. Konka's smart manufactured products are expected to reach 35 countries over the next two months -- with sales in the Central Asian market set to double, Chen added.

After just more than a decade since its establishment, the China-Europe train (Xi'an) service has launched 18 international lines, featuring increasingly diverse routes and enhanced services. From more than 100 trains at the start to 4,985 in 2024, this service has become an important driver of Xi'an's foreign trade growth.

Xi'an, once capital of ancient China and the starting point of the historic Silk Road, is writing a new chapter in global trade, thanks to the cross-border freight train service.

"According to China State Railway Group's data, the Xi'an line has led the nation in key metrics such as the number of trains, freight volume and loaded-car rate for seven years straight," said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of Xi'an International Port Group.