Trade lane
China → Europe: from the factory to your warehouse
This lane is crowded with carriers, and any of them will take your container. We answer for more than one leg of it: we find the factory, vet it, buy the consignment and see it through to unloading in Europe.
- Hubs
- SHANGHAI · ÜRÜMQI · ALMATY · DUISBURG
- Modes
- Rail · Sea
- We take on
- Sourcing · Purchase · Freight · Customs
- Working languages
- English · Russian · 中文
- SHANGHAIChina
- ÜRÜMQIChina
- ALMATYCIS
- DUISBURGEurope
The China to Europe corridor: SHANGHAI → ÜRÜMQI → ALMATY → DUISBURG. Rail runs the overland leg through ÜRÜMQI and ALMATY; sea freight leaves the Chinese ports for a European one. The lane works in both directions.
01 — The full cycle
What we do before anything moves
A freight forwarder starts once the goods are bought and sitting on a dock. Our work starts earlier — with what to buy and from whom.
- 01Finding the goods and the factoryWe shortlist manufacturers against your specification, volume and budget. The first reply on a trading platform is rarely the plant that makes the goods.
- 02Vetting the supplierRegistration documents, export entitlement, the plant itself, samples and the real price of the consignment — before the first payment.
- 03Agreeing the termsSpecification, minimum order, lead time, payment structure, Incoterms, and what counts as a defect and who pays to put it right.
- 04Buying the consignmentContract, payment to the supplier, production and dispatch control. With no foreign trade contract of your own, we buy the goods in our own name.
- 05Building the routeWe price rail and sea for the actual consignment: cost, number of transhipments, packing and securing requirements.
- 06Clearing both bordersExport clearance in China and import clearance at destination: codes, permits, declaration, release.
02 — The job
What clients bring to this lane
We met a factory at a trade fair. Vet them, then buy the first order for us.
Sea has become too slow. Price it by rail.
We have four suppliers and we want one shipment.
03 — Modes
How we move it on this lane
- RailThe overland leg through ÜRÜMQI and ALMATY. Carries weight and volume and sidesteps port queues. Goes as a full container or a groupage slot.
- SeaThe lowest price per cubic metre: raw materials, machinery, large consignments. Chosen when volume matters more than speed and the goods handle port transhipment.
04 — Nearby
What clients read alongside this lane
05 — Questions
What clients ask before the load moves
Rail or sea?
Sea is cheaper per cubic metre and takes any volume. Rail is quicker and sidesteps port queues, but asks more of the packaging, because the route includes transhipments. We price both for your consignment and show what separates them. The rate and the transit time we quote only after asking carriers about your actual cargo — on this lane both move with the schedule and the load factor.
We have no foreign trade contract and no import experience. Does this work?
Yes. If you have no contract with the Chinese factory and no intention of becoming an importer, we buy the goods in our own name and hand them over once they are in the country. If you do have a contract, we ship under yours and take on the route, the documents and the customs work.
Several suppliers — can it travel as one shipment?
Yes. We consolidate at one hub, check quantities and markings, and send it as a single consignment on one set of documents. One condition comes with it: the shipment waits for the slowest supplier, so we agree the readiness dates with all of them in advance and follow production instead of asking about it on the day of loading.
Who answers for product compliance in Europe?
The importer. It is the importer the regulator holds responsible for the goods meeting European product requirements: technical file, declaration of conformity, marking. So we settle it before the contract with the factory: which documents your product needs, what the manufacturer has to supply, and what is drawn up on the import side. If the factory cannot produce that set, you hear it before you pay, not at the border.
Tell us what you need out of China
Describe the goods and the delivery point. We come back with route options and a cost estimate — and with a sourcing plan if you have no supplier yet.