In Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, a heavy-duty truck with a "Yu A" license plate slowly drove out of the Xinzheng Free Trade Zone, carrying the core equipment of the largest glass production line under construction in Uzbekistan. Ten days later, this truck, which had traveled 6,000 kilometers and crossed three countries, successfully arrived in Tashkent. The completion of this **nation's first TIR large-cargo transportation** not only set a new record in international logistics but also marked a qualitative change in China's cross-border road transportation.
Global genes and core advantages of TIR transportation
The TIR (Transport International Routier) system, derived from the United Nations' "International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Road," is a customs clearance system designed by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) in 1949 to rebuild the post-war European trade network. China officially joined the Convention in 2016 and launched its first TIR transport corridor on the route from Dalian to Novosibirsk in 2018, thus initiating a "revolution in customs clearance" for cross-border logistics.
The **core operating mechanism** revolves around the "three-in-one principle":
- **One-time declaration**: Customs declaration for the entire route is completed in the originating country in one go
- **One-stop certification**: exemption from mid-journey container inspection with TIR documentation
- **Direct delivery by one vehicle**: The goods are transported in a sealed manner from the place of departure to the destination
This mechanism brings about a triple advantage:
- **Significant time saving**: Customs along the route only verify the customs seal, reducing customs clearance time by 30%-80%. The one-way journey from Zhengzhou to Moscow takes only 8-12 days, which is 40% faster than sea transportation and more flexible than railway transportation
- **Cost optimization**: By eliminating mid-way loading and unloading as well as repetitive customs clearance, transportation costs are reduced by 15%-38%. The TIR transportation cost from Chongqing to Hamburg is only $5,000, which is nearly 20% lower than that of sea-rail combined transportation
- **Security enhancement**: Customs seals are applied throughout the entire process, equipped with a GPS tracking system, and enjoy international guarantee chain protection of up to 100,000 euros
### New Opportunities on the Wheel: A Win-Win for Drivers and Enterprises
**For truck drivers**, TIR opens up a new avenue for income growth:
- The annual income of drivers on the Shenyang-Moscow dedicated route has increased by **50%** compared to domestic transportation. Zhengzhou Transportation Company is recruiting TIR drivers with a monthly salary of 15,000 to 20,000 yuan
- Improved working environment for high-end models: intelligent driving assistance, airbag seats, independent air conditioning, and spacious berths have become standard features
- Skill improvement channels: Enterprises such as Chuanhua Logistics regularly train TIR drivers, covering courses such as international regulations and foreign language communication
**The enterprise supply chain is thus restructured**:
- Cross-border e-commerce ushers in a "logistics miracle": TIR transportation compresses the delivery time of European orders from 45 days (by sea) to 12 days, and the efficiency of customer return processing is improved by 30%
- Preferred for high value-added goods: electronic products, lithium batteries, medical devices, and other goods sensitive to damage, with a 25% reduction in damage rate through TIR transportation
- Manufacturing enterprises directly connecting Europe and Asia: In 2025, Shenzhen Huapengfei's own TIR fleet will transport smart electronic products directly to Almaty, with a delivery time of only 6 days and a cost that is only 1/4 of air freight
The Path to Breakthrough: Challenges and Breakthroughs
Despite its significant advantages, TIR transportation still faces three barriers:
- **High qualification threshold**: Drivers must obtain the "Commercial Driver's License" and pass specialized exams such as international regulations and foreign affairs norms
- **High vehicle investment**: Specialized vehicle models (such as the Jiefang J7 Chuangling version) that can adapt to the -30℃ Siberian cold snap or the 50℃ Central Asian desert, with a purchase cost exceeding 40% of ordinary trucks
- **Difficulty in cross-border coordination**: Language barriers, differences in foreign traffic regulations, etc., require enterprises to equip with translation machines, local SIM cards, and standardized emergency response plans
China's innovation practice is breaking through bottlenecks:
- **Consolidation Center Model**: The first TIR consolidation center in Northeast China has been established in Liaozhong District, Shenyang, integrating container yards, bonded warehouses, and driver service centers to achieve "one-stop shipping"
- **Digital platform empowerment**: The leisurely packing platform provides an intelligent loading system, increasing the loading rate by 10%-30%; the online car ordering function shortens the scheduling time by 50%
- **Policy dividend release**: Chongqing customs declaration enterprises enjoy an 8% freight subsidy, and Shenzhen Customs implements "7×24-hour intelligent inspection and release", reducing customs clearance to 2 hours
China's TIR network: strategic layout from point to area
The construction of TIR corridors in China has formed a pattern of **multi-hub linkage**:
- **Central Plains Hub**: With Zhengzhou as the core, the number of TIR vehicles supervised in 2023 accounted for **70%** of the national total, with 12 trunk lines opened to Moscow, Tashkent, and other destinations
- **Northeast Corridor**: The Shenyang assembly center radiates to the Russian Far East, with the inaugural Krasnoyarsk route, driving a 17% increase in Liaoning's trade volume with Russia
- **Greater Bay Area Node**: In 2025, Shenzhen will launch its own TIR fleet to Almaty, forming a three-dimensional network with China-Europe Railway Express and Yantian Port, covering land, sea, air, and rail
- **Breakthrough in Central China**: In 2025, Jingmen Hongmao Logistics launched Hubei's first TIR business, filling the gap in Central China and boosting the direct supply of auto parts to Central Asia
The road ahead: driving towards a new blue ocean
With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative, the TIR network continues to expand:
- **Technological integration**: Global promotion of electronic TIR carnets (eTIR) and blockchain traceability systems to enhance cargo transparency
- **Multimodal transport**: The rise of the TIR+China Railway Express model, with the Shenyang consolidation center exploring "road + rail" LCL (Less than Container Load) business
- **Network depth**: The "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan" route is operating on a regular basis, and it is planned to open the China-Southeast Asia TIR corridor in 2025
Evolution of the Steel Camel Caravan: When the truck from Henan Ruichi Logistics drives into the Tashkent Industrial Zone, the moment the door opens, workers from China and Uzbekistan jointly unload precision equipment. This truck, which has traversed deserts and snowfields, still bears the traces of sand and dust from the Pamirs on its body. The seal number TIR-CN20250311 is clearly visible in the sunshine - this small metal lock is precisely the "clearance key" for the contemporary Silk Road.
TIR fleet transportation is not only a logistics channel, but also a strategic fulcrum for reshaping the trade landscape between Asia and Europe. It transforms inland cities into international hubs, making truck drivers key nodes in the global supply chain. As more "steel camel caravans" head out of the country, the last piece of the puzzle in China's three-dimensional logistics network of "land, sea, air, and rail" is being completed on wheels.
