HOHHOT — Foreign trade volume by railway through Manzhouli, the largest land port on the China-Russia border, exceeded 10 million metric tons in the first half of this year, up 6.4 percent year-on-year, according to official figures.

About 8.25 million tons of goods were imported by train via Manzhouli from January to June while the export volume was 1.79 million tons, said the Manzhouli railway station under China Railway Harbin Group Co Ltd on July 6.

Major commodities involved coal, iron concentrate, chemical fertilizer, wood, and large-scale construction machinery.

A total of 1,505 China-Europe freight trains passed through the port in the first half, an increase of 19 percent compared with the same period last year, carrying 134,700 TEUs of goods in total.

The China-Europe rail routes have become an important transport channel for stabilizing global trade and recovering production amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities in Manzhouli port have facilitated customs clearance to increase efficiency and help enterprises reduce logistics and transportation costs.