Liangjiang active BRI participant

An aerial photo of Liangjiang New Area. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

The Guoyuan Port based in the Liangjiang New Area, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, is an important hub of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor.

In the first three quarters of this year, the port handled a total of 475 trains, showing a growth rate of over 40 percent compared to the same period last year. It provides more efficient, convenient, and low-cost logistics services for outbound goods, greatly enhancing the influence of the new area in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Changan Auto is one of the beneficiaries of the corridor. "Compared with traditional road transportation, railway transportation is more efficient. The New Western Land-Sea Corridor provides a stable service for Changan Auto's exports to overseas markets, ensuring efficient vehicle transportation and reducing shipping time by 15 to 20 days," said Wang Di, senior manager of Changan Auto's vehicle logistics department.

Supported by the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, Changan's international railway transportation has increased by a factor of 3.5 in the first half of this year compared to 2022.

Changan's cumulative exports reached 180,000 vehicles from January to June this year, ranking among China's top three automobile export enterprises. It has also established subsidiaries and joint venture factories in countries such as Russia and Pakistan.

Moving eastward, the Liangjiang New Area has utilized the Shanghai-Chongqing express waterway, bringing new vitality to the Yangtze River Golden Waterway. Under the cooperation of the customs and port management departments of Shanghai and Chongqing, the express waterway officially started operating in January 2020.

From January to September this year, the Guoyuan Port in Chongqing facilitated 986 voyages using the waterway, up 12.2 percent year-on-year.

With its unique geographical advantages, Liangjiang has built a multimodal transportation system of railways, waterways, highways, and airways, accelerating its integration into the BRI.