In April-May, when Chinese factories returned to work, the increase was over 40 per cent, said Oleg Belozerov, general director and chairman of the board of Russian Railways on Friday. International partnership and digital technologies have brought more transit cargo to the railways during the pandemic, he noted.
In April this year Russian Railways reduced the rates for transiting empty 40- and 45-foot universal containers from third countries to China by up to 40 per cent. This measure, which is applicable until 31 August, was proposed in order to support the continuance of transit traffic between Europe and China.
According to Belozerov, this is an example of the good cooperation with the Russian Export Center, with which it orchestrated the plan. The Russian President supported this measure, the director general explained.
Russian Railways also pays great attention to cooperation with international organisations and business associations. In particular, within the framework of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association and the forum Trianon Dialogue, as well as the French-Russian chamber of Commerce, common legal field and technology for interaction of the railways in the Eurasian space are coordinated.
Together with our partners, we see a growing interest from entrepreneurs to joint projects in the field of transport. Recently, such hot issues as innovation and digital technologies have become particularly relevant. They become key factors in the competitiveness of companies and industries, especially in the current context, said Belozerov.