QINGDAO -- The China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) handled 814 China-Europe freight trains from January to November this year, up 16.5 percent year on year, according to data from the Qingdao Customs.

The demonstration area in the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao handled nearly 67,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the period.
Since the construction of the demonstration area started in June 2018, the Qingdao Customs has supervised the operation of 3,200 China-Europe freight trains to and from the SCODA. A total of 262,000 TEUs have been handled so far, with 2.2 million tonnes of goods being transported.

Apart from sea, air, and road transport, the demonstration area operates 31 international freight train routes, which reach 54 cities in 23 countries,

including the SCO countries and participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative.