A pavilion at the Fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT). [Photo/Visual Chongqing]

Chongqing has set forth its comprehensive five-year plan (2023-2027) to construct the new western land-sea corridor. This blueprint was officially released during the Fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) and outlines the targets and goals to be accomplished in the region.

A key objective of the plan is to double Chongqing's container throughput via the new western land-sea corridor and significantly increase its cargo volume through the China-Europe freight train by 2027. Additionally, the municipality aims to stabilize its foreign trade with ASEAN countries, ensuring it accounts for 70 percent of Chongqing's total exports and imports.

Statistics from 2022 demonstrate Chongqing's progress in this realm. The municipality successfully transported 148,000 containers of goods worth 25.1 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) via the corridor, representing an increase of 32 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Moreover, creating 78 new routes has expanded Chongqing's connectivity, linking it to 393 ports from 119 countries and regions worldwide.

The positive trajectory observed in the first four months of this year further solidifies Chongqing's position as a dynamic player in international trade and transportation.

The construction of the new western land-sea corridor has been stated as a part of the Chinese-charactered modernized scenarios at a themed convention held on March 27.

On April 17, 17 new western land-sea corridor projects in infrastructure, bulk commodity trading, and cold-chain logistics were launched, involving a total investment of 17 billion yuan.

On May 17, 48 domestic and foreign think tanks founded the new Western land-sea think tank alliance at the 2023 Belt and Road Land-Sea Coordinated Development Forum. The alliance will serve the high-quality development of countries along the corridor in terms of policy interpretation, strategy analysis, and project evaluation.