A tailored China-Europe freight train operated by Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd recently departed from a freight center in Jinan, East China’s Shandong Province, carrying 55 containers of white cardboard worth approximately 14.08 million yuan ($1.98 million). The train is scheduled to arrive in St. Petersburg, Russia, in about 20 days.
This service was specifically arranged for a leading domestic paper-making enterprise, highlighting Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd’s expanding tailored supply chain solutions. Since the beginning of the year, the group has launched customized trains for companies such as Shandong Heavy Industry Group and Haier Group, as well as regular specialized services for SMEs covering cold-chain logistics, cross-border e-commerce, and integrated trade and transport. From January to August, they operated 355 special trains.
Leveraging the China-Europe freight services, Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd has developed diversified models such as end-to-end logistics, building an efficient two-way channel for imports and exports.
Since taking over unified operations of Shandong’s China-Europe freight trains in 2018, Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd has created an efficient operational model, covering brand, services, platform, support, and promotion, positioning Shandong as one of the most dynamic provinces in China-Europe rail services. To date, the group has built a “2+4+N” dual-circulation network: “2” refers to the domestic assembly centers in Jinan and Qingdao, “4” refers to overseas hubs in Kazakhstan, Serbia, Russia, and Laos, and “N” represents other domestic and international node cities. The network currently operates 57 routes connecting 60 cities across 28 Belt and Road countries, with more than 12,800 trains dispatched and cargo worth over 120 billion yuan transported.
Beyond logistics, Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd has expanded its international operations and trade services. It currently manages 129 overseas institutions across 44 countries and regions, employing more than 3,500 staff. Its business spans international engineering contracts, cross-border logistics and services, and import-export trade. Notably, it ranks 51st in ENR’s 2025 Top 250 International Contractors—the highest among local state-owned enterprises in China—with 125 overseas projects under construction and a total contract value exceeding 56 billion yuan.
In addition to infrastructure projects such as Serbia’s 105.4-km Zrenjanin Highway—the first “planning-design-construction” project implemented by a Chinese enterprise under the China-Serbia economic and technical cooperation agreement—the group has developed integrated logistics and trade models. These include overseas collection centers in Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Russia, as well as its proprietary “Qilu Global Purchase” brand for imported goods, covering over 500 categories from fresh produce to daily necessities and wine. From January to July this year, the group achieved an import-export trade volume of 3.863 billion yuan, up 310 percent year-on-year.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
