The General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Sunday announced 15 measures to further support the development of China’s western region in the new era, focusing on the construction of ports and international aviation hubs in key cities.
The measures are designed to support the construction of ports across the western region, backing the opening or expansion of ports in areas that are in need and meet designated criteria, and support the construction of smart ports, China Media Group reported on Sunday.
In addition, the GAC proposed to explore and innovate facilitation measures for river-to-sea and rail-to-sea intermodal transport, supporting the high-quality development of multimodal transport.
When it comes to building international aviation hubs in the region, the measures highlighted key cities including Chengdu in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, Kunming in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Xi’an in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and Urumqi in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The measures also called to explore reforms such as integrating comprehensive bonded zones and ports in the western region.
China’s western region has been playing a vital role in boosting connectivity with international trade partners. Comprising 12 provincial-level regions, western China covers two-thirds of the country’s land area and is home to over a quarter of its population. A sparsely populated area with limited infrastructure, the western regions have lagged economically compared to the eastern provinces.
The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China’s western regions to global markets – the ASEAN market in particular – has surpassed a milestone volume of 10,000 rail-sea intermodal train journeys in 2024, the Xinhua News Agency reported on December 31, citing data from the Beibu Gulf Port Group.
The corrider has elevated the western regions to a vantage point of openness, catalyzing swift economic growth in these areas, which now connects 523 ports across 124 countries and regions, according to another report by Xinhua.
GT
