Transport links open up new horizons for Jilin

Jilin province, once a major manufacturing hub in Northeast China, is developing transportation and logistics passageways to surrounding areas to better integrate itself into the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to Bayinchaolu, Party chief of the province, Jilin will have a convenient, effective and well-equipped transportation network that connects the region with other parts of the world, and will become a logistics hub in Northeast Asia by implementing a massive passageway construction plan. The local government has dubbed it the "Silk Road Jilin" great passageway.

Under the continuous efforts of all relevant parties, Jilin is seeing positive outcomes from its expansion of its traffic networks in the past few years.

The China-Europe freight train, which connects Jilin's capital city Changchun and Hamburg in Germany, was launched in 2017.

Last year, the Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe International Rail Freight Line - the first of its kind in Jilin, which starts in Changchun, leaves China via the rail port in Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and passes through Russia, Belarus and Poland, before finally arriving in Germany - saw its overall transportation volume increase more than tenfold year-on-year.

After operating for more than two years, the operation frequency of the Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe International Rail Freight Line is one freight train per 1.6 days. In 2017, a total of 21,390 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods, valued at 650 million euros ($759 million), were exported from and imported into China, according to local officials.

The whole route covers 9,800 kilometers, taking a total of 14 days to transfer goods from Changchun to Germany, which saves more than 20 days compared to maritime transport. The trade link plays a significant role in helping companies reduce costs and stock, and save time, said officials.

A staff member at the Changchun branch of Fuyao Group said the company had to transport products to Hamburg in Germany by sea from Dalian, Liaoning province, in previous years, which was quite time-consuming. The delivery time was around 55 days.

"The delivery time has reduced by half of what it was after the Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe International Rail Freight Line was launched," the staff member said.

In the first half of 2017, Jilin's overall exports and imports were valued at 63.36 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2016. Among that, exports accounted for 14.7 billion yuan, with an increase of 10.9 percent year-on-year.

In line with its commitment, the inland province is also striving to build channels to better link it with countries and regions by sea.

A route which links Hunchun with Russia's Port of Zarubino and South Korea's Sokcho was extended to Japan's Maizuru port recently. High-speed train services have been launched to connect Hunchun with Changchun. With those lines, a new route that links China's Northeast inland area with countries and regions in the West Pacific area is building up.

Presently, several Russian businesses are transporting seafood to Hunchun for further processing. The final products will be sent to the world via those established logistics channels.

A new forefront

The Tonghua International Land Port, put into operation in December 2016, has become a key point in supporting Jilin's opening-up and industrial revitalization.

The port was positioned as a new international logistics hub, a new economic development powerhouse, a land to support Jilin's green economy transformation and a pivot point in supporting Jilin to integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative, according to local officials.

Jin Yuhui, vice-governor of Jilin, said Tonghua International Land Port has enhanced Jilin's opening-up level and successfully put the province at the forefront of China's opening up.

Jin also revealed that the port has performed well in the past year.

The port has established trade relationships with major domestic ports and countries and regions such as the United States, Australia and Brazil.

"The daily throughput volume is more than 15,000 metric tons at the moment and we are expecting to see breakthroughs on some cooperation projects," Jin said.

The establishment of the port helps companies to reduce logistics costs, save time and promote resource sharing among regions in Northeast China, Jin said.

Tonghua has also strengthened its connection with Dandong Port by jointly building the Dandong and Tonghua Economic Belt to provide even better links to other parts of the world.

Greater efforts

Apart from proposing more transport links across regions, Jilin is building up more platforms to support its opening-up.

It is going ahead with developing the Changchun-Jilin-Tumen Development Pilot Zone to promote cross-border cooperation.

It has developed the Sino-Singapore Jilin Food Zone, launched the China-Northeast Asia Expo and promoted the Greater Tumen Initiative to further push cross-border cooperation.

The China-Northeast Asia Expo has become an important platform for companies, both domestic and international, to seek business opportunities. The matchmaking events during the 2017 expo attracted businesses from countries such as Australia and Israel.

Jilin has also made great efforts to promote reform in various other fields such as its finance sector. It has established Jilin Province Private Equity Co to support emerging industry development.

Jilin is eager to expand its promotion in foreign countries, especially those involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The province has launched 13 marketing and demonstration centers in 13 countries and regions including Malaysia and Russia. It has launched a three-year action plan to explore business opportunities in global markets and has established contacts with 382 multinational companies and more than 83 different levels of governments.

Jilin's efforts are generating returns. The province's rice has entered into Singapore market and ginseng has been sold to Japan and South Korea.

hanjunhong@chinadaily.com.cn