The Greater Bay Area (GBA) launched its first cross-border e-commerce China-Europe freight train with special purchases for the 2022 Spring Festival on Tuesday, departing from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province to Odessa in Ukraine, sharing the Chinese New Year with countries and regions along the route.

The train will reach Odessa in about 16 days, carrying goods like household appliances, communication equipment and household items held in 50 containers.

Before the Spring Festival, the GBA is expected to launch six China-Europe freight trains filled with Chinese goods mainly including digital products, personal protective equipment (PPE) and household items.

"As the Spring Festival approaches, the demand for Guangdong's household appliance manufacturers, such as Midea, which is famous in China and abroad, continues to grow," an official from the Guangzhou China-European Train Operating Company was quoted as saying in a report by the China Media Group, noting that recent sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 have limited mobility of local residents, so the demand for small Western-style kitchen appliances remains high."

Experts say that China-Europe freight trains have low risk of virus infection thanks to strict quarantine inspection measures, running at lower cost and less transit time. The integration of cross-border e-commerce and China-Europe Freight trains has attracted the attention of many trade enterprises along the route, and become the preferred mode of transportation for foreign people to purchase Chinese goods.

In response to recent outbreaks across the country, the Guangzhou Railway Group has strengthened measures focused on prevention and control of the pandemic, disinfecting goods for exports from high-risk areas including Zhongshan and Zhuhai.