During a high-level roundtable held on October 22 between the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and multinational corporations operating in China, officials from the NDRC shared some impressive statistics. From January to September this year, the new western land-sea corridor saw a total of 642,000 standard containers shipped via iron-sea combined transport, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.2%.

In the same timeframe, cross-border freight trains between China and Vietnam and between China and Laos delivered cargo amounts of 5.41 million tons and 3.77 million tons, marking substantial growth of 37% and 7.2%, respectively. This reflects a significant boost in the development and openness of the western region.

Chuki, Deputy Director of the NDRC’s Infrastructure Division, noted, “In recent years, the areas along the corridor have attracted a number of Fortune 500 companies and enterprises from eastern coastal regions. So far this year, we’ve established seven new national-level logistics hubs along the corridor.”

The western land-sea corridor has successfully integrated multiple modes of transport, including iron-sea combined transport, international rail transport, and cross-border road freight, covering 125 countries and regions. Serving as the logistics and operations center for this corridor, Chongqing transported 183,000 standard containers during the first nine months of this year, a remarkable growth of 45%, with a total cargo value reaching 34.9 billion yuan, up by 80%.

Gao Jian, Director of the Chongqing Development and Reform Commission, remarked, “The pathways for inland openness are continuously expanding. With each new international collaboration and event, we leverage these platforms to create more mutually beneficial opportunities for multinational corporations to invest and thrive in Chongqing.”

(Reported by Liu Ying and Gao Yuan from CCTV)