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China launches new Iran train route

Tokhme khar

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China launches new Iran train route
Fri May 11, 2018 05:17PM
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China has launched a new freight train service from its northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Iran’s capital Tehran.


China on Thursday launched a freight train service that connects its northern regions to Iran’s capital Tehran in what could be a major connectivity project of vital importance to the flow of trade between the two countries.

The freight train service would take cargoes from Bayannur in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Tehran.

China sent an inaugural train toward Iran carrying 1,150 tonnes of sunflower seeds. It would travel a distance of around 8,000 kilometers through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and would arrive in Iran within two weeks.

The new train route will shorten transportation time by at least 20 days compared with ocean shipping, according to a report by Xinhua news agency.

Bayannur is China' biggest sunflower seed production area. The city exports about 180,000 tonnes of sunflower seeds every year, with 90 percent of them headed for Middle Eastern, European and US markets, the report added.

The launch of a train service to Iran comes as the United States is preparing to impose what President Donald Trump has described as a tough regime of sanctions against the country.

Establishing new train routes toward the Islamic Republic is accordingly seen as a gesture by Beijing that it wants to maintain trade with its biggest trade partner even when the sanctions are put into effect.

“While the United States is now urging foreign companies to wind down their operations in Iran, China appears to be doing the opposite,” wrote the Washington Post in an analysis.

“Thursday’s launch of a freight train connection was only the latest measure that Beijing has taken to intensify trade relations with Iran, and there seem to be no plans so far to give in to US demands.”

In February 2017, China also launched a long-distance train service that would take cargoes from its east to Iran through a route of above 10,000 kilometers - what could be one of the world's longest rail routes.

A train sent through the key connectivity project took 14 days to reach Iran after travelling through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The shipment period was almost a month less than the sea route from Shanghai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian officials have indicated that the ultimate aim is to extend the rail route to Europe, positioning Iran on a key stretch to the continent, the Guardian wrote in an analysis on the development.

These are seen as part of China’s efforts to revive the ancient Silk Road – a trans-Asian trade route that connected the east to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.
 
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Ten O’Clock to Tehran: China Launches New Rail Link with Iran as US Severs Ties
© Sputnik / Sergey Subbotin
Business
02:30 12.05.2018Get short URL
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Beijing has officially opened its new train route to Iran, as the US urges its companies to wind down their operations with the Islamic Republic.

As US President Donald Trump hardens his confrontational attitude to Tehran, tearing up the 2015 nuclear deal and calling for a new sanctions regime, China is more than ready to grab the opportunity for trade by opening a new international railroad connecting Tehran and Bayannur, a city in China's Inner Mongolia region.

The exact route of the railroad is yet to be disclosed, as there are currently several major railroad projects, some of them even including China's biggest regional rival, India. But, considering Bayannur is located near the northern border of China and there's already an international railroad to Kazakhstan there, it is likely that the new trade route goes through the territories of former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

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© Sputnik / Alexey Agarishev
White House: US Calls On 'Responsible Nations' to Bring Pressure On Iran
According to the Washington Post, China has sent the inaugural train from Bayannur carrying — you'll never guess — 1,150 tons of sunflower seeds, because Bayannur is China's biggest sunflower seed production area. China exports some 180,000 tons of sunflower seeds every year, supplying Middle Eastern, European and US markets, according to Xinhua.
Compared with ocean shipping, the train route shortens the delivery time by some 20 days, and Chinese sunflower seeds are now expected to get to Tehran in two weeks — less than half as long as before.

The news comes at a time when an all-out military conflict between Iran is Israel is looming. In this light, Washington's call for companies to stop doing business with Iran might be perceived as a precaution in light of a coming war. If so, then China would seem to be taking Iran's side with its trade projects.

Or, Trump's call might just be just another attempt to entice US companies home. With Trump, you never know.

During a media briefing Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that Iran and China would "maintain normal economic ties and trade."

"We will continue with our normal and transparent practical cooperation with Iran on the basis of not violating our international obligations," he said.

According to the Washington Post, Iran sells more to China than to any other country and celebrated a 25 percent increase in exports there last year. The value of Chinese exports to Iran also increased by more than 21 percent last year, according to Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration's statistics.
 
How good is the fast train infrastructure with in Iran?

I mean if Iran is not getting air planes, then Iran should concentrate on the fast rail tracks and join all the parts of the country through fast train, thus reducing the need of air planes at least for domestic routes.

Iran was planning for 40 Billions purchase of air planes. If only half of it i.e. 20 Billions are used on the fast rail system, then Iran will for sure get great rail network.
 
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