A cherry tomato grown in east China's Shandong Province can now reach a Moscow supermarket in just seven days.

The cherry tomatoes begin their journey at a transport facility of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, or the SCO demonstration area, in Qingdao, Shandong Province. The produce is loaded onto TIR (Transport International Router) cold-chain trucks that maintain temperatures of 0-4 degrees Celsius throughout the journey, passing through customs stations before reaching a warehouse on the outskirts of Moscow.

After inspection and approval by supermarket buyers, the tomatoes reach retail shelves. The journey spans nearly 10,000 kilometers across China and Russia but requires only seven days to complete. The rapid delivery demonstrates the efficiency of the SCO's expanding logistics network.

The TIR system is a global customs framework that streamlines cross-border freight transportation under U.N. guidelines. The system offers smoother customs clearance procedures, faster transport times and eliminates the need to transfer or reload cargo during transit.

The SCO demonstration area currently operates four TIR routes: China-Russia, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan, China-Kazakhstan, and China-Belarus-Russia.

Since launch, 530 TIR vehicles have transported goods worth more than 357 million yuan ($50 million), with total cargo exceeding 9,400 tonnes across 40 product categories. The TIR network linking China and other SCO countries has created an integrated road logistics system that accelerates regional economic cooperation.

(Source: People's Daily)