In November, the roads from Qingdao to Bangkok, Thailand and Hanoi, Vietnam opened to traffic, and the international road transport from Qingdao to the Greater Mekong sub region was debuted in China. Coupled with the regularly operated TIR China-Russia, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport corridors, Qingdao’s international road transport is driven by “two wheels” that comprise TIR and GMS. Transporting goods abroad by truck has shifted over time from a novelty to a routine.

“Compared with air transport, sea transport, freight trains among other modes of transport, GMS transport falls into point-to-point through transport, providing a new channel to market abroad agricultural products from Qingdao and its neighboring areas,” said an official in Qingdao Municipal Transport Bureau. Furthermore, Qingdao’s efforts to build TIR channels are gaining momentum, and the transport volume of TIR “China-Russia Expressway” comes out in front in China.

Reportedly, Qingdao continues to step up support, guidance and cultivation, and assists businesses in venturing abroad to tap markets in neighboring countries. Qingdao, which has added 26 companies qualified for international road transport this year, is currently home to 41 international road transport companies, the most in Shandong Province.  (Zhou Jianliang)

TIR-labeled cross-border transport vehicles are departing from the SCO Demonstration Area.