(Yicai  Global) Nov. 28 -- The first Transports Internationaux Routiers truck  has arrived in Poland after making a 7,000-kilometer journey from  China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region in 13 days.  

The  TIR truck transport started its journey at the Khorgos border on Nov.  13, traveling through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to Poland. The TIR  initiative is a joint effort between the International Road Transport  Union and global leading logistics companies to facilitate international  road freight trade.

The  success of this test run shows that road transport can be used for  China-European trade, said Umberto de Breto, secretary general of the  IRU, adding that it is very competitive in terms of cost, timeliness and  flexibility. 

The  Western Europe - Western China highway fully opened to traffic in  September this year. The corridor will increase road freight volumes  between China and Europe by 2.5 times, the World Bank predicts. 

CEVA  Logistics, Shanghai Jet-rail International Transportation and Khorgos  Zhonghangxin International Logistics work as freight forwarders for TIR  transport, while Alblas International Logistics acts as the operator.

Road  transport from China to Europe has a great future and it is especially  suitable for companies with high unit prices and timeliness  requirements, said Torben Bengtsson, executive vice president of CEVA  Logistics China, adding that the test-run proves that it could save up  to 50 percent door-to-door cost compared with air, and at least ten days  delivery time compared with rail.

Set  up 69 years ago, TIR is a global customs clearance system for cargo  transportation based on the United Nations TIR Convention. It aims to  promote the level of global trade facilitation and enhance the  international road transport security by simplifying customs clearance  procedures and improving efficiency. China joined the TIR system in July  2016 and became the 70th State party. IRU is authorized by the UN to  manage the TIR system globally. It was established in Geneva,  Switzerland in 1948 and has more than 100 members worldwide.