Recently, Chongqing has been taking frequent actions in promoting the iterative upgrading of the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China.

On April 25th, 16 measures were launched to support the high-quality development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China, focusing on the development of the corridor, the economy of the corridor, logistics system construction, and business environment;

On April 26th, the "13+2" provincial and municipal tax authorities along the route jointly signed the "Cooperation Framework Agreement" in Chongqing, establishing a cross regional tax cooperation mechanism;

On April 28th, the Fuling Longtou Port Railway Special Line launched the container trains for New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China.

Behind this series of reforms, innovations, and breakthroughs, there is a strong signal that Chongqing has carefully laid out and taken practical actions to accelerate the construction of the "Four Beams and Eight Pillars" of the inland opening comprehensive hub.

The construction of an international aviation gateway hub is the highlight of Chongqing's efforts to build an inland open comprehensive hub. As a key construction project during the 14th Five Year Plan period of Chongqing Municipality and Civil Aviation Administration, the total investment for the T3B terminal and the fourth runway project is about 22.5 billion yuan. In the first quarter of this year, the cumulative completed investment exceeded 1.3 billion yuan, and the project is accelerating. Currently, the main structural engineering of T3B terminal has been fully completed, and the curtain wall and metal roof engineering have also been basically completed. The shape that "Phoenix spreads its wings" is clearly visible, and the interior decoration and mechanical and electrical installation of the terminal are currently underway.

After the completion and operation of the T3B terminal and the fourth runway project, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport will form a layout of four runways and four terminal buildings, meeting the needs of an annual passenger throughput of 80 million people, 580000 aircraft takeoffs and landings, and 1.2 million tons of cargo and mail. Its operational support capability will be further enhanced.

"Four Beams and Eight Pillars" originates from a traditional architectural structure in ancient China, which relies on four beams and eight pillars to support the entire building. The four beams and eight pillars represent the main structure of the building. Once the four beams and eight pillars are set up, the house is basically formed. Today, the term "four beams and eight pillars" is often used to describe institutional frameworks, including reforms.

How should the "four beams and eight pillars" of Chongqing's inland open comprehensive hub be built? If major projects are the key carriers, then the comprehensive hub platform system is a solid foundation.

Recently, the State Council officially approved the establishment of the Chongqing International Railway Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone. The newly established Comprehensive Bonded Zone is located within the Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park, with a planned area of 0.75 square kilometers. It is adjacent to the Chongqing railway port and can achieve seamless connection with China-Europe freight trains, New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China, and the full coverage of the "railway, public, water, and air" open channels and logistics hubs. This will provide strong support for further promoting opening up.

Prior to this, Chongqing had six comprehensive bonded zones. The Lianglu Guoyuan Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone is the only inland comprehensive bonded zone with a dual core of "water-port + airport"; Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone is the largest planned comprehensive bonded zone in China; Jiangjin Comprehensive Bonded Zone is the China (Chongqing) ASEAN Commodity Distribution Center; Fuling Comprehensive Bonded Zone is the fourth customs special supervision area in Chongqing. Wanzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the first comprehensive bonded zone in Northeast Chongqing, and an important national level open platform for the Integrated Development Demonstration Zone of Wanzhou-Dazhou-Kaizhou among Sichuan and Chongqing; Yongchuan Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the first comprehensive bonded zone on the main axis of the Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle, is a high-level open platform that can radiate to the western and southern regions of Chongqing.

The newly established International Railway Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone is the seventh comprehensive bonded zone in Chongqing. Since then, Chongqing has become the province and city with the most open platforms in the central and western regions.

In the eyes of industry insiders, this has a profound impact on the development of logistics, trade, and industry in Chongqing, as well as the further improvement of the open economic pattern in inland areas.

After discussing the platform, let's take a look at the channel again. Continuously improving the level of open channels is an important focus for Chongqing to build a comprehensive hub for inland opening, known as the "Four Beams and Eight Pillars".

The "Innovation 5" ship, loaded with over 5000 tons of imported grain, departed from Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang on April 24th, and smoothly entered the waters of Chongqing at 9:00 on May 8th. After a brief stop at Xintian Port in Wanzhou, it sailed towards Luohuang Port in Jiangjin, creating a precedent for China's 10000-ton sea vessels to directly sail from the coast to Chongqing. In the past, due to the complex navigation conditions in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, sea-going vessels, which are larger and have deeper drafts, needed to switch to river boats at midstream points of the Yangtze River to reach Chongqing from Zhoushan. This process usually took about 35 days.

The arrival of the "Innovation 5" ship in Chongqing means that the breakthrough of the "bottleneck" between sea transportation and the "last mile" of the Golden Waterway of Yangtze River. The seamless integration of the river and the sea transport enhances the safety of cargo transportation, reduces the intermediate transfer steps, and significantly lowers cost while increasing efficiency.

At present, Chongqing and Zhoushan have begun preparations for the regular direct river-sea transportation. After the the route becomes regular, the number of ports in Chongqing where vessels can dock will increase, including Guoyuan Port, Wanzhou Xintian Port, Fuling Longtou Port, and so on. These ports are the important starting points of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China, which will help further promote the joint development of the "the Belt and Road", the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China.

Chongqing is an economic center and international comprehensive transportation hub in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with a geographical advantage of connecting the east and west, linking the north and south, and joining the river to the sea. The Yangtze River, known as the “Golden Waterway” connects Chongqing to the world, while the China-Europe Railway Express connects Europe and Asia. The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China extends to Southeast Asia, laying a solid foundation for the construction of an inland open comprehensive hub.

In the view of Li Jing, Vice President of Chongqing Technology and Business University and Vice Chairman of the China Association for Regional Economics, in the new era, the inland region is gradually moving from the "end" of opening-up to the "front". Chongqing, as an comprehensive hub for the opening up of inland area, is becoming increasingly prominent, and it is also entrusted with greater missions. Opportunities always favor prepared cities.

Li Jing, Vice President of Chongqing Gongshang University, Director of Southeast Asian Research Center, and Vice Chairman of China Regional Economic Association

We will make greater efforts to continuously improve infrastructure such as transportation, logistics, parks, and industries, continuously enhance the international logistics hub function, resource allocation function, factor distribution function, and institutional innovation function of comprehensive hubs, integrate various resources, do a good job in software and hardware connectivity, and smooth the flow of people, logistics, funds, and information; Secondly, we must always maintain strategic composure, diligently practice our internal skills, and focus on major tasks such as the construction of a modern industrial system, high-level opening up to the outside world, and integrated urban-rural development, in order to effectively integrate the development of regional economy and comprehensive hubs. In addition, we need to soberly recognize that Chongqing's new positioning as a "comprehensive hub" is placed under the "inland opening-up". We not only need to expand and strengthen ourselves, but also focus on enhancing our ability to serve major national and regional strategies and connect with the international community.

In April of this year, General Secretary visited Chongqing for inspection, and the first stop was Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park. He emphasized that Chongqing should strive to build an "inland open comprehensive hub". Not only does it place high hopes on the central government for Chongqing to drive the opening-up and development of inland areas, but it also serves as a vivid footnote for Chongqing to better plan and serve the overall situation from a global perspective. To promote the great opening up, promote the great development, and achieve great development, we look forward to Chongqing riding the wind and setting sail to open up a new chapter.

Source: Chongqing First Eye

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