(Yicai Global) March 1 -- Germany's largest port increased its cargo traffic last year on the back of growing trade between China and the European country. 

The Port of Hamburg's harbor-hinterland rail freight rose almost 3 percent to nearly 47 million tons, while one out of each three containers was set for China or coming from there, the northern German port operator said to Yicai Global. 

The harbor handled around 4.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units for China trade, which made it into the main European hub for China freight by a wide margin, said Axel Mattern, the joint chief executive of the Port of Hamburg Marketing.

In terms of railway transport, there were 235 trains each week from Hamburg to 27 cities in China. China Railway Express, which is part of the nation's Belt and Road push to integrate the former Silk Road countries, has boosted the number of routes in the past over two years. It has also strengthened cross-border ties between logistics companies as half of the Hamburg-based ones now have close links with China. 

About 550 Chinese companies, including China COSCO Shipping, Zhenhua Port Machinery, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, have set up offices in Hamburg to facilitate trade between the two nations. 

Editor: Emmi Laine