Henan opening up via multimodal logistics

With a sharp blast of a whistle, a China-Europe freight train slowly pulled out of Putian railway station in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, in late March, its carriages packed with auto parts and electronics bound for Hamburg, Germany.

Under the glow of floodlights, cranes moved in rhythm and workers signaled across the yard, as containers were hoisted and secured in a tightly choreographed operation.

Nearby, another set of containers had just arrived, carrying milk and juice from Germany and Poland. Forklifts weaved through the unloading zone as the goods were quickly sorted and dispatched to cities across China, offering a snapshot of increasingly seamless two-way trade flows.

In another part of the city, Du Qiang, an inspection officer from Zhengzhou Customs' airport branch, was checking a shipment of electronic components that had just arrived from Europe. The entire batch will be transported by trucks to an auto factory in Hefei in East China's Anhui province. Under the "air-land intermodal transport" model, the time from arrival in Zhengzhou to delivery at the next destination can be kept within 10 hours, said Du.

Despite having no coastline or border crossing, Henan, supported by favorable policies brought by the development of China (Henan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, is expanding the province's role in building a modern logistics hub with global reach by leveraging the dual engines of being an air cargo hub and China-Europe freight train services.

Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that through the coordinated development of the "Air Silk Road" that connects economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and the overland rail network, Henan is accelerating the flow of goods between China's inland provinces and overseas markets.

That view is in line with the latest data, as air cargo routes centered on Zhengzhou have expanded rapidly since China began supporting the development of a bidirectional "Air Silk Road" between Zhengzhou and Luxembourg in 2017, linking 18 destinations in Europe, 23 in Asia and nine in the Americas as of the end of 2025, said Zhengzhou Customs.

Total cargo and mail throughput at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport reached 1.03 million metric tons in 2025, up 25.25 percent year-on-year, placing it among the world's million-ton cargo hubs. Within the total, international cargo volumes amounted to 661,500 tons, a surge of 40.25 percent on a yearly basis.

In 2025, China-Europe freight train services from Zhengzhou operated 3,417 trips, up 36.7 percent year-on-year, according to customs statistics. The cargo mix has expanded from a single category to 53 major categories, including automobiles and parts, furniture, chemical products and machinery, with the "new trio" — electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products — now also being shipped to foreign markets via the service.

Liu Jiannan, vice-chairman of the Beijing-based China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that after years of development, Zhengzhou has moved beyond its traditional role as a logistics hub to become an industrial hub, attracting high-end manufacturing and supply chain operations.

Henan offers a vivid example of how China's inland provinces are using aviation connectivity and multimodal logistics to expand opening-up and drive economic transformation, said Liu.

That transformation is also being felt at the company level. Huang Huali, president of Henan Shunshui International Trade Co, a Zhengzhou-based foreign trade firm, said that since the launch of a cargo route linking Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with Zhengzhou in 2024, her company has significantly expanded imports of fresh produce from Southeast Asia.

"Around 7 to 8 tons of fresh durians now arrive in Zhengzhou from Malaysia every day. Thanks to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport's 'air-to-air transfer' service model, they can be quickly shipped to cities across China," said Huang.

Wan Zhe, a professor specializing in regional economic development at Beijing Normal University, said that Zhengzhou's advantages as an international logistics hub have not only driven the upgrading of traditional industries, but also provided fertile ground for the growth of emerging sectors.