Under the control of Xiamen Customs District, one 40-foot container from the Philippines was put into a China Railway Express (CRE) train toward Russia on August 29 for the transportation to Moscow on the next morning.

It was the first time for Philippine goods to be transited by railway from Xiamen to Europe, making the Philippines one of the places of dispatch for CRE sea-railway combined transportation.

In support of the sea-railway transit, Xiamen Customs focused on the transport security, urging both the CRE operator and the international logistics operator to remind the Philippine consignor of container loading balance; illustrated the transit clearance procedures to guide customs brokers and frontline officers in processing; by using information technologies, tracked the in-transit logistic status and coordinated relevant problems solving.

Reaching Xiamen by sea on Aug 25, the transit goods were 4.7 tons of radio transceivers, worth 390,000 US dollars. Subject to COVID-19 pandemic, there has been few cargo ships visiting the Philippines, so CRE sea-railway combined transport via Xiamen has provided a new transport corridor for Philippine exports.