A freight train gave a quick toot-toot as it approached Xi'an Port in the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics (ITL) Park on Aug 21 to announce the arrival of cold-chain meat products imported from Long Beach in California.

The 188 tons of meat, shipped in the United States, made a stop in the port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, and will come to market after passing the port's quarantine of meat imports in September.

A joint effort of the customs and ports of Xi'an and Qingdao, along with Xi'an Hairun Bio-technology Co, China's largest pork skin and neck bone importer, the success of the new venture can be attributed to Xi'an Port's integrated cold-chain logistics system which features a combination of sea-rail transport.

The service has helped shorten the time of transport and customs clearance and lowered logistic costs by 20 percent, according to Li Liuyang, executive director of Hairun.

The partners will continue to facilitate custom clearances and logistics. Extra train services have also been planned to ensure sustainable and normalized logistics channels, said Li Zhuo, director of Qingdao Port Co in Xi'an.

Sun Yimin, director of the ITL administrative committee, spoke highly of the first trial of this method of importing meat, saying that the trains have brought vitality and momentum to the development of Xi'an Port.

The two ports signed an agreement to integrate their respective logistics and supply chains in May, setting up expedited services to cut logistic costs.

Xi'an Port has always been an important juncture of the Belt and Road Initiative due to its multi-modal transportation infrastructure, including Xi'an Highway Port and China-Europe and China-Asia freight trains.