Historic trade capital once again becomes global investment hub
Chengdu, in Sichuan province, has made great efforts to transform itself
from being a hinterland to a bustling trade hub, with multiple modes of
transport helping to attract major global partnersTo get more Chengdu City
news, you can visit shine news official website. Situated in the
fertile province of Sichuan, Chengdu has long provided commodities and
goods for nations along the path of ancient Silk Road.
Nowadays,
with an extensive transportation network covering air, waterways and
land, the city is once again aligning its growth even more closely with
the outside world. Chengdu has made great efforts to transform itself
from being a hinterland to a bustling trade area, with multiple modes of
transportation. On 7 November 2018, some 123 Volvo XC60 compact luxury
crossover SUVs, which were made in Volvo’s first Chinese plant in
Chengdu, departed the city. They were due to arrive in Vorotynsk in
Russia in around 10 days. This was the first time Chengdu-made
automobiles were exported through the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway.
The Chengdu-Europe Express Railway launched its first freight train in
2013.
It has reversed the geographic disadvantages of Chengdu
being a landlocked city and transformed it into an important channel for
logistics and economic exchanges along the overland Eurasian
Continental Bridge. Officials said the express railway is now looking to
all points of the compass for expansion. It terminates in Russia in the
north and reaches into the heart of Europe, as well as Central Asian
countries in the west. On the east, it has been expanded to Japan, South
Korea and the Americas, as well as China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan,
with the help of the Chengdu-Europe Plus strategy and China’s longest
waterway, the Yangtze River. On the south, it has linked with the
international logistics networks of member countries in ASEAN.
As
of 16 Oct 2018, Chengdu led the country to dispatch this year’s 1,000th
China-EU freight train. A total of 2,497 trips starting from Chengdu
were made by China (Chengdu)-Europe freight trains over the past five
years, accounting for 25pc of the nation’s total. To support the Belt
and Road Initiative, Chengdu has linked its production, innovation,
service and consumption with the soaring demand of the countries and
regions involved in the initiative. For example, during the first China
International Import Expo in November, companies from Chengdu, Shanghai
as well as in Russia signed an agreement to build a cross-border
exhibition centre for Russian imports by 2019 and Russian specialty
stores by 2020.
In September, five countries – Italy, France, the
Netherlands, Israel and Moldova – located their national commodity
pavilions at the Chengdu International Railway Port in Qingbaijiang,
part of the China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Officials said these
pavilions will serve as comprehensive exchange platforms to integrate
various services covering the economy, culture, education, tourism,
exhibition and investment. In the coming three years, Qingbaijiang plans
to develop a cluster of 36 such pavilions.The Chengdu International
Railway Port had rolled out 20 major projects by the end of September
2018, for a total investment of 20.3 billion yuan (£2.3 billion).As an
aviation hub for China’s southwestern areas, Chengdu is constantly
improving its international aviation network. The city has opened six
direct, regular international passenger flights and two international
cargo routes this year. Chengdu currently operates a total of 111
international air routes, ranking first in central and western China.