As more and more cities operate the China-Europe Train, local governments are scrambling to grab the market through subsidies and preferential policies. The above-mentioned local government sources said that after the “Belt and Road” initiative was adopted as a national initiative, China and Europe were regarded as political achievements in various regions. In order to compete with the number of trains, the subsidies in various places are very enthusiastic. All China-Europe train companies have a strong dependence on subsidies.

From the beginning of operation, the China-Europe trains have relied heavily on subsidies. A person familiar with the matter said that the cost of rail transport is usually more than double the cost of shipping. At the beginning of the China-Europe train operation, in order to grab supplies from the shipping market, local governments could only reduce freight rates to close to shipping prices by means of financial subsidies.


Facing the subsidy decline policy of the Ministry of Finance, the above-mentioned local government sources said that the provincial and municipal governments are currently studying how to develop market-oriented trains between China and Europe in the future. "Everyone understands that the prosperity caused by subsidies is false. Whoever can form a market-based operating mechanism earlier will be the real winner."
Starting from 2018, the Ministry of Finance requires local governments to reduce the China-Europe train subsidy standard: based on the full freight rate, the subsidy in 2018 will not exceed 50% of the freight, the subsidy will not exceed 40% in 2019, and it will not exceed 30% in 2020.