杜伊斯堡市市長：選杜伊斯堡為渝新歐終點是正確戰略

杜伊斯堡市市長：選杜伊斯堡為渝新歐終點是正確戰略

杜伊斯堡市長蘇·林克

【歐洲時報杜伊斯堡報道】 渝新歐鐵路是“一帶一路”戰略中絲綢之路經濟帶的重要組成部分。自去年3月中國國家主席習近平訪問杜伊斯堡港口后，越來越多的中國以及歐洲企業開始對該市開往中國的列車感興趣。3月6日，記者來到杜伊斯堡市政廳，與市長蘇·林克（Sren Link）以及市經濟促進局總經理拉爾夫·莫雨勒（Ralf J. Meurer）進行交談，詢問了這條“亞歐大動脈”最新的運營情況。

林克介紹：“渝新歐鐵路每周有三班貨運列車從重慶發車，至少一趟從杜伊斯堡出發，單程運行時間為14至16天。它的速度比起海運快上一倍，而價格僅為空運的一半，能夠有效地連接起充滿活力的長江經濟帶以及現代化的魯爾經濟區。”

莫雨勒說：“從中國來的商品主要為電子產品；而從德國始發的列車則主要運輸整車和汽車零配件。一個車皮可以裝載兩輛整車，一個班列就可以將80輛汽車運往中國。”

關于回程貨依然缺乏的問題，林克表示：“一方面我們會與德國企業溝通，讓他們了解渝新歐的優勢，并選擇接受它。我們正在計劃將更多的食品運往中國，比如深受中國消費者歡迎的新鮮牛奶，目前還只能依靠空運，未來我們可以利用冷藏集裝箱，通過渝新歐，將德國新鮮牛奶送到更多普通中國消費者的餐桌上。另一方面也與中國企業尋求合作，比如重慶有眾多外貿食品超市和家居市場，它們都是渝新歐的潛在客戶。”

莫雨勒補充到：“渝新歐的運營成本在過去4年已有大幅下降，隨著未來需求的增大，班列會增加，運行成本還會進一步下降，勢必也會吸引更多的客戶，進入一個良性增長期。我們控制運費的目標是向海運看齊。”

為什么選擇杜伊斯堡作為渝新歐終點站？林克表示，杜伊斯堡與中國的合作并不是始于渝新歐，而是基于33年的傳統友誼。他說：“杜伊斯堡擁有多方面的優勢。一，杜伊斯堡1982年便與武漢結成友好城市，不但在經濟上，而且在文化、教育、科技等各個方面都與中國保持了良好的合作關系；二，杜伊斯堡地理上是歐洲的中心，在這里可以把貨物通過鐵路、飛機運到歐洲其他所有地方；三，杜伊斯堡有70多家國際物流巨頭在此經營，這為渝新歐籌集回程貨提供了絕好的平臺。渝新歐鐵路作為‘新絲綢之路經濟帶’的重要一環，是中國的一個戰略性項目，杜伊斯堡市以及周邊地區的企業都將受惠。選擇杜伊斯堡作為渝新歐的終點是一個正確的戰略決定。”

去年，習近平主席對德國進行國事訪問時特意參觀了杜伊斯堡港。林克認為，這無疑對渝新歐鐵路、杜伊斯堡市起到了巨大的廣告效應，同時釋放了一個相當明顯的信號：杜伊斯堡市、北威州對于中國投資者而言是一個理想的投資地點。莫雨勒說：“目前共有37家中國企業落戶于杜伊斯堡，光去年一年就新入駐7家，其中有兩家是物流公司。我們在德國通過各個渠道，比如研討會、展會與中國企業溝通，同時也會前往中國與他們直接對話。

去年12月份我與市長先生就在重慶，了解當地的產業構成、市場需求，與當地從事外貿的企業進行交流；今年秋天，市長還會前往重慶和武漢，進一步與當地企業建立更加密切的關系。”

2014年中國GDP增長7.4%，2015年將進一步調整到7%。林克認為，中國經濟的放緩不會影響到渝新歐鐵路的前景。他說：“中國經濟保持了20多年高增速，為尋求更高質量的增長，產業結構進行調整，經濟有所放緩不可避免。7%對于德國來說依然是一個‘天文數字’。中德經濟互補性很強，中國公司對于德國的產品以及技術仍然興趣十足，尤其是在制造工業和新能源技術領域。我認為中德貿易依然會保持良好的發展勢頭，渝新歐將會扮演更加重要的角色。渝新歐是一個‘創舉’，沒有太多的經驗可以參考。中方的合作很有誠意也很順利，當然還有不斷完善的空間，比如在班次連接，貨物卸載、分轉，貨物包裝說明等方面。”

林克補充到，除了經濟往來，文化和藝術交流是聯系兩國人民最好的紐帶。杜伊斯堡擁有東亞研究所、孔子學院，并在多個中小學校開設了中文課程。杜伊斯堡埃森大學里有1500名中國學生就讀，是擁有注冊中國學生最多的德國大學之一。今年，來自中國的藝術品還將在杜伊斯堡以及周邊八個城市的博物館展出。

林克說：“去年，有多場中國節慶祝活動在杜伊斯堡舉辦，德國人參與熱情也越來越高。幾周前，我參加了杜伊斯堡華人舉辦的春節聯歡晚會，感覺非常棒。杜伊斯堡與中國之間還建筑了一條精神和文化上的‘渝新歐’。”

Mayor of Duisburg: It is a Right Strategic Decision to Choose the City as the Terminal of Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway

【Oushinet reported from Duisburg】Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway is a major component of the Silk Road Economic Belt as in the Belt and Road initiative. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Duisburg port last March, an increasing number of Chinese and European enterprises begin their interest toward this train bound for China. On March 6, the reporter came to the town hall of Duisburg and conversed with Mayor Sren Link and business promotion agency (GFW) general manager Ralf J. Meurer and asked the lasted operation of this Eurasian artery.

Link introduced that, “there are three freight trains every week departing from Chongqing and at least one from Duisburg on the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe line. A single trip takes 14 to 16 days. Besides doubled speed compared with maritime transportation, the rate of this train is only half of air transportation. So it can effectively connect the vibrant Yangtze River Economic Belt and the modern Ruhr Economic Area.”

Meurer said, “Commodities from China are mainly electronic products; while the train starts from Germany mainly carry cars and components. A carriage can load two cars and a whole train can ship 80 cars to China.”

As for the shortage of backhaul cargos, Link said, “on one hand, we will inform German enterprises of advantages of this railway and convince them to use it. We plan to ship more food products to China, such as fresh milk and other beloved products, which are currently still transported by air. In the future, we can utilize refrigerated containers and bring fresh German milk to the dinner table of more average Chinese consumers via this railway. On the other hand, we seek further cooperation with Chinese enterprises, for instance, Chongqing has many imported food supermarkets and home furniture markets, which are all potential customers of the railway.”

Meurer added that, “the operational cost of the railway has gone down quite a lot in the past four years. With more demands in the future, there will be more trains and lower running cost, which in turn willattract more customers and shape a period of sound growth. Our objective is to control the train’s cost to the level of maritime transportation.”

How come we chose Duisburg as the terminal of Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway? Link explained that the cooperation between Duisburg and China did not start from this railway per se, but our traditional friendship in 33 years. He said, “Duisburg boasts many advantages. One, it became the sister city with Wuhan in 1982 and had maintained sound ties with China not only in economy, but also in culture, education and technology; two, Duisburg is the geographic center of Europe, from where the cargo can be shipped to all European cities through railways and aircrafts; three, with over 70 international logistics tycoons operating here, it offers an excellent platform to organize backhaul cargo for the trains. As a key link of New Silk Road Economic Belt, Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway is a strategic program of China benefiting Duisburg and enterprises in surrounding areas. Choosing Duisburg as the terminal, therefore, is a correct strategic decision.

Last year, President Xi Jinping visited Duisburg during a state visit to Germany. Link believed this was undoubtedly a huge advertisement to the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway and the city itself as well as an explicit signal: Duisburg and Nordrhein-Westfalen at large are ideal investment spots for Chinese investors. Meurer said that, “at present, 37 Chinese enterprises have settled in Duisburg and, last year alone witnessed the entrance of seven new Chinese enterprises, among which two are logistics companies. We communicate with Chinese enterprises through various channels like workshops and expositions and travel to China to talk to them directly.

Last December, our mayor and me went to Chongqing to learn about local industrial mix and market demands and talked to local foreign trade enterprises; this autumn, the mayor will also travel to Chongqing and Wuhan to set up closer ties with local enterprises there.

In 2014, China’s GDP grew by 7.4%, and it will be lowered to 7% in 2015. Link deemed that the slowdown does not affect the outlook of the railway. He said, “China’s economy has maintained a high growth rate for over 20 years. Slower economic growth is inevitable to seek better growth quality and industrial structure adjustment. 7%, however, is still an astronomical figure to Germany. Given strong complementarity between China and Germany, Chinese companies are still very interested in German products and technologies, especially in manufacturing and new energy technologies. I think China-German trade will still maintain a sound momentum, while Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway will have a bigger part to play. Unprecedented in nature, the railway does not much experience to refer to. The cooperation of China is very sincere and smooth, but we still have room for constant improvement, such as train scheduling, cargo loading, transfer and cargo packaging and description.

Link supplemented that apart from economic ties, culture and art are best links between two peoples. Supported by East Asia Research Institute and Confucius Academy, Duisburg has Chinese classes in many secondary and primary schools. Attended by 1500 Chinese students, Essen University, Duisburg is one of the German universities with the biggest number of registered Chinese students. This year, artworks from China will be exhibited in the museums in Duisburg and the surrounding eight cities.

Link said, “last year, many Chinese festival celebrations were held in Duisburg with increasing participation enthusiasm from the German side. A few weeks ago, I joined the Spring Festival Gala by Chinese people in Duisburg and felt it was awesome. Between Duisburg and China, we have constructed a spiritual and cultural connection too.