杜伊斯堡市市長(zhǎng)：選杜伊斯堡為渝新歐終點(diǎn)是正確戰(zhàn)略

杜伊斯堡市長(zhǎng)蘇·林克

【歐洲時(shí)報(bào)杜伊斯堡報(bào)道】 渝新歐鐵路是“一帶一路”戰(zhàn)略中絲綢之路經(jīng)濟(jì)帶的重要組成部分。自去年3月中國(guó)國(guó)家主席習(xí)近平訪問(wèn)杜伊斯堡港口后，越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)以及歐洲企業(yè)開(kāi)始對(duì)該市開(kāi)往中國(guó)的列車感興趣。3月6日，記者來(lái)到杜伊斯堡市政廳，與市長(zhǎng)蘇·林克（Sren Link）以及市經(jīng)濟(jì)促進(jìn)局總經(jīng)理拉爾夫·莫雨勒（Ralf J. Meurer）進(jìn)行交談，詢問(wèn)了這條“亞歐大動(dòng)脈”最新的運(yùn)營(yíng)情況。

林克介紹：“渝新歐鐵路每周有三班貨運(yùn)列車從重慶發(fā)車，至少一趟從杜伊斯堡出發(fā)，單程運(yùn)行時(shí)間為14至16天。它的速度比起海運(yùn)快上一倍，而價(jià)格僅為空運(yùn)的一半，能夠有效地連接起充滿活力的長(zhǎng)江經(jīng)濟(jì)帶以及現(xiàn)代化的魯爾經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)。”

莫雨勒說(shuō)：“從中國(guó)來(lái)的商品主要為電子產(chǎn)品；而從德國(guó)始發(fā)的列車則主要運(yùn)輸整車和汽車零配件。一個(gè)車皮可以裝載兩輛整車，一個(gè)班列就可以將80輛汽車運(yùn)往中國(guó)。”

關(guān)于回程貨依然缺乏的問(wèn)題，林克表示：“一方面我們會(huì)與德國(guó)企業(yè)溝通，讓他們了解渝新歐的優(yōu)勢(shì)，并選擇接受它。我們正在計(jì)劃將更多的食品運(yùn)往中國(guó)，比如深受中國(guó)消費(fèi)者歡迎的新鮮牛奶，目前還只能依靠空運(yùn)，未來(lái)我們可以利用冷藏集裝箱，通過(guò)渝新歐，將德國(guó)新鮮牛奶送到更多普通中國(guó)消費(fèi)者的餐桌上。另一方面也與中國(guó)企業(yè)尋求合作，比如重慶有眾多外貿(mào)食品超市和家居市場(chǎng)，它們都是渝新歐的潛在客戶?！?/p>

莫雨勒補(bǔ)充到：“渝新歐的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本在過(guò)去4年已有大幅下降，隨著未來(lái)需求的增大，班列會(huì)增加，運(yùn)行成本還會(huì)進(jìn)一步下降，勢(shì)必也會(huì)吸引更多的客戶，進(jìn)入一個(gè)良性增長(zhǎng)期。我們控制運(yùn)費(fèi)的目標(biāo)是向海運(yùn)看齊?！?/p>

為什么選擇杜伊斯堡作為渝新歐終點(diǎn)站？林克表示，杜伊斯堡與中國(guó)的合作并不是始于渝新歐，而是基于33年的傳統(tǒng)友誼。他說(shuō)：“杜伊斯堡擁有多方面的優(yōu)勢(shì)。一，杜伊斯堡1982年便與武漢結(jié)成友好城市，不但在經(jīng)濟(jì)上，而且在文化、教育、科技等各個(gè)方面都與中國(guó)保持了良好的合作關(guān)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(guò)鐵路、飛機(jī)運(yùn)到歐洲其他所有地方；三，杜伊斯堡有70多家國(guó)際物流巨頭在此經(jīng)營(yíng)，這為渝新歐籌集回程貨提供了絕好的平臺(tái)。渝新歐鐵路作為‘新絲綢之路經(jīng)濟(jì)帶’的重要一環(huán)，是中國(guó)的一個(gè)戰(zhàn)略性項(xiàng)目，杜伊斯堡市以及周邊地區(qū)的企業(yè)都將受惠。選擇杜伊斯堡作為渝新歐的終點(diǎn)是一個(gè)正確的戰(zhàn)略決定。”

去年，習(xí)近平主席對(duì)德國(guó)進(jìn)行國(guó)事訪問(wèn)時(shí)特意參觀了杜伊斯堡港。林克認(rèn)為，這無(wú)疑對(duì)渝新歐鐵路、杜伊斯堡市起到了巨大的廣告效應(yīng)，同時(shí)釋放了一個(gè)相當(dāng)明顯的信號(hào)：杜伊斯堡市、北威州對(duì)于中國(guó)投資者而言是一個(gè)理想的投資地點(diǎn)。莫雨勒說(shuō)：“目前共有37家中國(guó)企業(yè)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?cè)诘聡?guó)通過(guò)各個(gè)渠道，比如研討會(huì)、展會(huì)與中國(guó)企業(yè)溝通，同時(shí)也會(huì)前往中國(guó)與他們直接對(duì)話。

去年12月份我與市長(zhǎng)先生就在重慶，了解當(dāng)?shù)氐漠a(chǎn)業(yè)構(gòu)成、市場(chǎng)需求，與當(dāng)?shù)貜氖峦赓Q(mào)的企業(yè)進(jìn)行交流；今年秋天，市長(zhǎng)還會(huì)前往重慶和武漢，進(jìn)一步與當(dāng)?shù)仄髽I(yè)建立更加密切的關(guān)系?！?/p>

2014年中國(guó)GDP增長(zhǎng)7.4%，2015年將進(jìn)一步調(diào)整到7%。林克認(rèn)為，中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的放緩不會(huì)影響到渝新歐鐵路的前景。他說(shuō)：“中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)保持了20多年高增速，為尋求更高質(zhì)量的增長(zhǎng)，產(chǎn)業(yè)結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行調(diào)整，經(jīng)濟(jì)有所放緩不可避免。7%對(duì)于德國(guó)來(lái)說(shuō)依然是一個(gè)‘天文數(shù)字’。中德經(jīng)濟(jì)互補(bǔ)性很強(qiáng)，中國(guó)公司對(duì)于德國(guó)的產(chǎn)品以及技術(shù)仍然興趣十足，尤其是在制造工業(yè)和新能源技術(shù)領(lǐng)域。我認(rèn)為中德貿(mào)易依然會(huì)保持良好的發(fā)展勢(shì)頭，渝新歐將會(huì)扮演更加重要的角色。渝新歐是一個(gè)‘創(chuàng)舉’，沒(méi)有太多的經(jīng)驗(yàn)可以參考。中方的合作很有誠(chéng)意也很順利，當(dāng)然還有不斷完善的空間，比如在班次連接，貨物卸載、分轉(zhuǎn)，貨物包裝說(shuō)明等方面?！?/p>

林克補(bǔ)充到，除了經(jīng)濟(jì)往來(lái)，文化和藝術(shù)交流是聯(lián)系兩國(guó)人民最好的紐帶。杜伊斯堡擁有東亞研究所、孔子學(xué)院，并在多個(gè)中小學(xué)校開(kāi)設(shè)了中文課程。杜伊斯堡埃森大學(xué)里有1500名中國(guó)學(xué)生就讀，是擁有注冊(cè)中國(guó)學(xué)生最多的德國(guó)大學(xué)之一。今年，來(lái)自中國(guó)的藝術(shù)品還將在杜伊斯堡以及周邊八個(gè)城市的博物館展出。

林克說(shuō)：“去年，有多場(chǎng)中國(guó)節(jié)慶?；顒?dòng)在杜伊斯堡舉辦，德國(guó)人參與熱情也越來(lái)越高。幾周前，我參加了杜伊斯堡華人舉辦的春節(jié)聯(lián)歡晚會(huì)，感覺(jué)非常棒。杜伊斯堡與中國(guó)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, “l(fā)ast 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.