Chinese premium products' fire 'to Russia
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China Russia strategic partnership, and the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries continues to deepen. Relying on the transportation capacity of China Europe regular trains and the convenience of TIR international highway transportation, combined with the accurate and efficient customs clearance services of local customs, China's characteristic industrial products, light industrial products, characteristic aquatic products and other advantageous commodities have accelerated to the Russian market, injecting strong economic and trade momentum into the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".
The construction of the China Europe freight train as the main land transportation channel for Russia
At the operation site of Hefei International Land Port, the China Europe Railway Express (Hefei) loaded with "Made in Anhui" goods such as Midea Meiling white goods, automotive parts, clothing, shoes and hats was organized in an orderly manner and shipped quickly. Relying on the advantages of large capacity, strong stability, and controllable timeliness of China Europe freight trains, more and more Anhui enterprises are choosing railway trains to deeply cultivate the Russian market, achieving stable order delivery, fast freight delivery, and rapid market expansion.
As an important land route connecting Anhui Province with Russia and the Eurasian region for opening up to the outside world, the China Europe Railway Express (Hefei) has been running a dedicated line to Russia for 18 consecutive years, providing direct access to 11 stations including Shushalei and Yekaterinburg in Russia. The volume and value of goods have been increasing year by year. In the first four months of 2026, the China Europe freight train (Hefei) will operate 300 trains, a year-on-year increase of 8.99%. Among them, there are 153 round-trip trains between China and Russia, accounting for more than half.
Luzhou Customs, under the jurisdiction of Hefei Customs, focuses on the guarantee needs of the normal operation of China Europe freight trains, and fully promotes the "Railway Express" mode to China Europe freight trains (Hefei), reducing the congestion pressure at border ports, making the overall travel time of the trains more controllable, enhancing customer experience and enterprise market competitiveness. Under the precise supervision and service of customs, the quality of China Europe freight trains (Hefei) has steadily improved, and more customized trains and boutique special lines focusing on Anhui famous brands continue to operate. It is reported that since its launch, the China Europe Railway Express (Hefei) has operated nearly 1800 customized trains for key enterprises such as Chery, of which customized trains to Russia account for over 80%.
Recently, a China Europe freight train loaded with diesel engines, tractors, woven grass and willow fabrics, non-woven fabrics and other "Linyi made" specialty products slowly departed from Linyi International Land Port in Shandong, and departed through Erenhot Port in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for Russia. This train has a total of 110 TEUs and a value of approximately 16.9427 million yuan. It is the 61st China Europe train to travel between China and Russia since 2026, and also a microcosm of the continued rise in trade between Linyi, Shandong and Russia.
Linyi, as the commercial and logistics capital of northern China, has 136 professional wholesale markets, and its industrial cluster characteristics are in line with the demand of the Russian market. Among them, agricultural machinery such as cranes, loaders, diesel engines, and tractors meet the essential needs of Russian agricultural production; Labor intensive products such as grass willow weaving, non-woven fabrics, and labor protection supplies are also highly favored by Russian consumers due to their high cost-effectiveness. With the increasing heat of economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia, the number of China Europe freight trains running from Linyi to Russia has become increasingly dense. In the first four months of 2026, the line will receive 61 trains and deliver goods with a total value of 785 million yuan, up 27.08% and 77.67% year on year, respectively, and become the "golden channel" for the deep integration of southern Shandong into the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".
Currently, the China Europe freight train departing from Erenhot Port takes only 12 to 15 days to travel from Linyi to core cities in Russia, reducing the time by two-thirds compared to traditional sea transportation, "said Song Zhen, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Eurasia Railway Logistics Co., Ltd." The overall logistics cost is reduced by more than 50% compared to air transportation, saving about 20% compared to traditional intermodal transportation solutions, and greatly improving the profit margin of enterprises
TIR road transportation opens up a new path for cross-border freight transportation
Recently, Wenzhou Customs, under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou Customs, implemented supervision on a batch of goods sent to Moscow, Russia via TIR international road transportation mode. The goods arrived at their destination 10 to 12 days later.
TIR stands for International Road Transport System, which is a global cross-border freight clearance convenience system established based on the United Nations Convention on International Road Transport. Its core advantage lies in "one declaration, one certificate to the end, and one direct transportation", with no vehicle changes or inversion throughout the process, which can greatly improve clearance efficiency and transportation flexibility. It is known as the "global clearance passport" for cargo transportation.
From a few cars per week to a few cars per day, this is a huge leap, "said Chen Rishang, the person in charge of Wenzhou Juxin Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. After more than a year of accumulation, enterprises around Wenzhou that have a demand for exporting to Russia and Central Asia have gradually become aware of the advantages of TIR in reducing costs and improving efficiency, and TIR's popularity has gradually increased. ”
As the first city in Zhejiang Province to implement TIR services, Wenzhou has opened a total of 22 routes to four countries including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, weaving a dense network of "northbound" routes. Since 2026, Wenzhou Customs has focused on the logistics cost reduction and efficiency improvement needs of foreign trade enterprises, continuously optimized regulatory services, built diversified "TIR+" business matrices such as "TIR+bonded" and "TIR+cross-border e-commerce", and launched the "TIR in transit intelligent supervision system" to achieve dynamic supervision of the entire chain of "Zhejiang C" vehicles. In the first four months of 2026, Wenzhou Customs supervised 162 TIR vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 11.4 times, ranking first in Zhejiang Province.
Against the backdrop of complex challenges in the global supply chain and pressure on the stability of traditional maritime and railway transportation channels, the attractiveness of TIR stable logistics channels to foreign trade enterprises is enormous. ”Wang Daning, the person in charge of the Wenzhou Customs Office in Rui'ao, said.
On April 17th, under the supervision of Quanzhou Customs under Xiamen Customs, two specialized vehicles with TIR markings loaded with furniture, handicrafts, light industrial bags and other goods departed from the Zhongxishi Lake International Logistics Center in Shishi City and headed to Moscow via Manzhouli Port. This is the first time that Fujian Province has adopted the "TIR+market procurement" transportation mode to export goods, marking the official opening of the "Quanzhou Manzhouli Moscow" TIR transportation route and adding new momentum to the high-quality development of Fujian's foreign trade.
Quanzhou City has two national level market procurement and trade pilot cities, Shishi Clothing City and Jinjiang Shoe Textile City, with an annual export volume exceeding 30 billion yuan. This innovation adopts the "TIR+Market Procurement" transportation mode, which fully utilizes the policy advantages of simplified customs clearance procedures for market procurement trade, and seamlessly connects market consolidation, customs clearance, and cross-border road transportation. The entire transportation time is only 8 to 10 days, which is more than two-thirds shorter than the traditional sea freight mode, and the transportation cost is also more than three-quarters lower than air freight.
The first launch of TIR transportation has achieved efficient linkage between cargo collection, customs clearance, and instant transportation, effectively improving the accessibility and logistics coverage of market procurement and trade, and building a more flexible, efficient, and stable export channel for Quanzhou to the European and Central Asian markets. ”Cai Rose, Chairman of Quanzhou Shisheng Supply Chain Co., Ltd., said.
To ensure the smooth clearance of the first batch of TIR transported goods in the customs area, Quanzhou Customs conducted business research and guidance in advance, established a special working group in conjunction with local business departments, organized desktop simulations and business tests, and tailored regulatory plans for enterprises; Set up a dedicated window for fast customs clearance, allowing for quick on-site processing of certificate endorsement, sealing, and other related services; Actively dock with port customs, quickly link up TIR transportation links, achieve "reporting, inspection and release immediately", ensure the smooth exit of TIR vehicles, and help smooth and jointly build the international logistics channel of the "the Belt and Road" countries.
Customs clearance service escorts distinctive and high-quality products to steadily expand the market
As one of the important seafood producers and suppliers in Shandong, after more than 20 years of deep cultivation, Yantai Ruihe Food Co., Ltd. has established a stable global supply chain. Recently, a batch of squid products from the company were sent to the Russian market after strict inspection by Yantai Customs under Qingdao Customs.
Our company's core products are mainly squid ingredients, forming three major series of freezing, seasoning, and coating powder, covering 10 varieties such as squid tubes and squid flowers. With the convenient characteristics of opening the bag and cooking without pre-treatment, we accurately meet the needs of local Russian consumers for convenient, safe, and high-quality seafood. "Tang Xunxun, the head of the Quality Control Department of Yantai Ruihe Food Co., Ltd., introduced that in recent years, the company has deeply explored the Russian and Eastern European markets, targeted research and development for local dietary habits and safety standards, and has formed a multi category integrated processing mode, which can stably and massively supply high-quality seafood that meets Russian import standards. Its market share and brand recognition continue to rise.
The key to preserving frozen aquatic products exported to Russia lies in the entire cold chain process and efficient customs clearance. In order to assist the efficient export of characteristic aquatic products, Yantai Customs has implemented precise measures, opened a "green channel" for local inspection, comprehensively promoted facilitation measures such as "early declaration" and "two-step declaration", and continuously compressed the clearance time through measures such as "appointment inspection", "rapid testing" and "rapid certificate issuance".
At the same time, Yantai Customs focuses on the export demand of enterprises to Russia, relying on a professional team to promote Russian aquatic product access regulations and related policies, and guiding enterprises to make full use of policy dividends such as "Authorized Economic Operator" (AEO) and "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) through "face-to-face" activities and on-site research visits, to promote Yantai aquatic products to better go abroad.
In the first four months of 2026, the export of aquatic products from Yantai Customs jurisdiction to Russia showed strong momentum, with a total export value of 53.18 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%.
The radiation effect of policy dividends is also evident in Shengsi County, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, known as the "hometown of Chinese mussels". In the first four months of 2026, the export value of Shengsi mussels to Russia reached 14.2203 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123.27%. The Russian market has become the core engine driving the export growth of the "hometown of Chinese mussels".
It is reported that the oyster production enterprises in Shengsi County are scattered on remote islands, facing long-term challenges such as high inter island travel costs, strict customs clearance time for aquatic products, and unfamiliarity with Russian access standards. Shengsi Customs, a subsidiary of Hangzhou Customs, focuses on the urgent needs and concerns of enterprises, continuously optimizes the business environment at the port, and builds an offshore "cloud" service station on Goji Island. It comprehensively promotes the intelligent service of "cloud issuance" for inspection and quarantine certificates and certificates of origin, allowing enterprises to achieve 24-hour self-service printing of certificates, truly achieving "no need to leave the island, cross island processing", and firmly guarding the golden time for aquatic product exports.
In addition, in order to assist enterprises in accurately expanding their market, Shengsi Customs relies on the "Red Ship Enterprise Navigation" service platform to provide "door-to-door policy delivery" services, establish a "liaison officer" mechanism to assist enterprises, implement "one enterprise, one policy" dedicated personnel docking and assistance, and provide "hands-on" guidance to enterprises to optimize production processes, improve their self inspection level, and connect with Russian access standards. At present, 70% of the export mussel production enterprises in the jurisdiction have passed the registration recommendation qualification for Russia, and some enterprises are expected to achieve a 50% increase in exports for the whole year. At the same time, Shengsi Customs has precisely designed a preferential policy for the country of origin to help enterprises enhance their ability to enjoy benefits, and by 2025, it will assist enterprises in enjoying benefits of over 2 million yuan.
Next, Shengsi Customs will continue to improve the efficiency of regulatory services, optimize measures that benefit enterprises and the public, and provide more convenient customs clearance services and more accurate policy supply to help the island's characteristic aquatic products set sail overseas.