Region upgrades logistics sector to modernize economy

Jilin has become an important window to the north for China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, said Bayinchaolu, Party chief of the province.

Bayinchaolu said Jilin, a traditional manufacturing hub in Northeast China, has lagged behind in cultivating a strong export-oriented economy, and foreign trade professionals are in short supply.

Despite these shortfalls, Jilin does not lack the strong foundation and unique advantages to improve its opening-up, he said.

"It is important to take a long-term perspective," he added.

To overcome its challenges, the province has grasped the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative in the past few years and is expanding its export-oriented economy.

To date, Jilin has established three main channels for trade, to its eastern, southern and northern neighbors.

The province has established economic and trade ties with 185 countries and regions around the world. It has developed trade relationship with 64 countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The transportation route to the east, which combines routes by land and sea, starts in the county-level city of Hunchun, in eastern Jilin, and connects to the Port of Zarubino in Russia and South Korea's port city of Busan.

To the south, Jilin is integrating into the Bohai Bay Rim economic region by connecting its Tonghua International Land Port with Dandong, Dalian and Yingkou ports in neighboring Liaoning province. Tonghua International Land Port saw its goods turnover volume exceed 5 million metric tons after operating for just one year.

To the north, the Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe International Rail Freight Line starts in Changchun, capital of Jilin, and connects to European cities. It is serving as a bridge for trade between China and Europe.

According to Bayinchaolu, in the past year, more than 2.5 million tons of goods were imported via a freight train route between Hunchun and Russia, an annual increase of 30 percent.

More than 100 Fortune 500-listed companies have launched investment projects in Jilin.

In 2017, the foreign trade volume between Jilin and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 9.4 percent.

Over the past five years, Jilin has attracted capital of 3.4 trillion yuan ($510 billion), with an average annual growth of 17.03 percent, according to the Jilin government.

Bayinchaolu said that today's Jilin is no longer an isolated area as people thought it was in the past. Jilin will continue to grasp the opportunities available and promote the local economy with an inclusive mindset to reach a higher level of openness, he said.

As one of the key provinces in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Jilin has the advantages, potential and confidence to achieve new accomplishments, Bayinchaolu said.