Over the ten years since the Belt ad Road Initiative was put forward, Qingdao and regions and countries along the Belt and Road, under the principle of pursuing shared growth through discussion and collaboration, have seen increasing trade ties, steady progress in bilateral investment and sound interconnectivity. According to statistics from Qingdao Customs, imports and exports between Qingdao and regions and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative have surged from RMB215.98bln in 2013 to RMB434.2bln in 2022 at an annual average growth rate of 8.1%. The Belt and Road Initiative has helped the city open increasingly wide to the outside world.

A return Qilu China-Europe freight train, which departed from Kustanai in Kazakhstan and entered China via the Alashankou Pass, recently arrived at the multimodal transport center in the Qingdao SCO Demonstration Area after 13 days with a full load of wheat bran pellet to be sold in China. Soon after, another Qilu China-Europe cold-chain freight train, loaded with about RMB13mln worth of refrigerated yellow peach dices and vegetables, left Qingdao for Moscow. The Qingdao SCO Demonstration Area, which has so far opened 31 international and domestic freight train lines that can reach 54 cities in 23 regions and countries along the Belt and Road, is becoming faster a gateway to the Asia-Pacific market in the co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

As the integration with the Belt and Road Initiative advances, Qingdao increasingly interacts with regions and countries involved in the Initiative and shows sincerity for “going out” and “bringing in”.

According to data from Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce, this year to date, Qingdao has attracted 65 projects funded by regions and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and actually utilized USD697.6bln in foreign investment. Qingdao plans to set up a number of cooperative production bases on its competitive industries such as household appliances and rubber tires in Russia, Egypt, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Qingdao has made a total outbound investment of USD144mln in regions and countries along the Belt and Road, and seen a newly increased output value of USD945mln in its 8 overseas economic and trade cooperation areas, triggering USD617mln worth of domestic imports and exports.

(Liu Lanxing)

The Qilu China-Russia freight train opened this September.

Qingdao Port has opened more than 80 container shipping lines for the Belt and Road Initiative. In the photo, the EVERDEVOTE vessel is bound for Cape Town in South Africa.