A truck bearing TIR signs on Thursday departed from an international road transport assembly center in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China's Henan Province, bound for Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, embarking on the first journey of a new direct road transport service between the two countries.

TIR, an abbreviation for Transports Internationaux Routiers, or International Road Transport, is an international customs transit system that saves time and costs for transport operators and customs authorities moving goods across borders.

"The batch of cargo -- mainly office supplies -- will pass through the Horgos border port in China's Xinjiang, after which it will transit through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan," said Wang Ti, deputy general manager of Zhengzhou Hongyi Transport Co., Ltd.

A single trip on the Zhengzhou-Ashgabat TIR transport service takes nine days, covering about 6,000 kilometers. It saves approximately 35 percent of transport costs when compared to air freight services, and half the time when compared to rail transport services.

Located in the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, the International Road Transportation Henan Assembly Center is the first such center located in an inland region of China. It includes a TIR certificate issuance office and an international road transport vehicle inspection center, allowing companies to apply for international road transport documents and handle annual reviews.

Li Zhen, deputy director of the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone's management committee, said that the center has launched 18 TIR transport routes to and from nine countries, including Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

According to customs data, Zhengzhou Customs has overseen 458 TIR transport vehicle trips over the past two years, with a total throughput value exceeding 420 million yuan (about 57.9 million U.S. dollars). Approximately 1,200 trade companies have used the service to transport goods falling under more than 500 categories, ranging from automotive parts to food products.

"Though it is an inland province without border or sea ports, Henan has built international logistics channels via TIR road transport, air freight and China-Europe freight train services to become a new pathway in the central China region," said Ouyang Liangyuan, deputy director of Xinzheng Customs, which is administrated by Zhengzhou Customs.