by David Couliau

On the road, to a new world

In Shanghai, I met He, a truck driver with more than 20 years of experience. As China’s road industry has grown in the last decades, his love for the road has become even stronger.

Since he was a child, he wanted to become a driver and in his family this profession has been passed on from father to son for several generations. 

The expansive transport improvements across the country have made him happier to have chosen this path. He takes pride in the fact that he has never been involved in a road accident and he is confident that he will keep his safety record, seeing as the roads are getting safer every year. 

Driving into the future

China’s road freight transport is more connected and high-tech than ever. A well-known domestic cargo transport dispatch platform called Yunmanman (YMM) instantly connects cargo owners and truck drivers like He. In YMM’s app, everyone has a profile, gets rated and the truck drivers can be tracked in real time, across the country.

The fact that his homeland is opening up due to the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the adoption of the TIR customs transit system, gives hope to He who would love to drive beyond Chinese borders to discover new worlds and new nations.