Statistics show that during 2022, the number of new routes opened under the framework of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor reached 78, which is five times more than that in 2021, with routes covering 393 ports from 119 countries.
Last year, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality transported 148,000 containers through the corridor, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent. Chongqing also reported a foreign trade volume of 815.8 billion yuan ($118.29 billion), including 126.6 billion yuan from import and export transactions with ASEAN member countries.
In August 2019, China issued the master plan for the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, stipulating that by 2025, the corridor will have been both established and put into operation, with economic and efficiency benefits.
By 2035, the corridor plans to have stronger transport capabilities, an optimized transportation layout, and an efficient multimodal transport system. By this time, the corridor is also estimated to have a top national efficiency ranking for its logistics services and customs clearance processes.
John Edwards, the UK trade commissioner for China, praised Chongqing over its rise as a burgeoning center in intelligent manufacturing.