Cross-border businesses have been normal for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). Led by Chongqing and connecting western cities together, ILSTC has developed at an ever-faster pace over the past years, building up a bridge between enterprises going global and the rest of the world.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is Chongqing’s major channel to the sea and plays a pivotal role in its open development.

On November 6, a rail-sea intermodal train of the ILSTC loaded with chemical raw materials, general machinery products, as well as electronics and auto parts departed from Chongqing in southwestern China to Guangxi Qinzhou Port in the south.

This was the 1000th trip for the ILSTC trains departing from Chongqing this year.

There are plenty more cross-border businesses like this. "ILSTC has helped crack the hardest nut plaguing western China in opening up." According to a source from the Port and Logistics Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, ILSTC has replaced the Yangtze River Golden Waterway as the main means of transportation for western China to sell different sorts of products to worldwide countries quickly.

In 2017 when the trains via ILSTC were first opened, there were only 80-plus product categories. By the end of October 2020, this number had risen to more than 300, covering 246 ports in 96 countries and regions, 33 ports, and eight countries more over last year.

As the number of product categories increased, the trains' number and scale also saw a rise.

In January-September, Chongqing opened 839 rail-sea intermodal trains via ILSTC, up 21.24% year on year; the share of goods for foreign trade rose by 25 percentage points to 58%; the number of cross-border services by highway and railway reached 1,901 and 122 respectively, up 161% and 154% year on year.

Despite the negative impact from COVID-19, the number of services opened via ILSTC by highway and railway saw a remarkable increase due to a combination of factors.

Since the beginning of the second half this year, the rail-sea intermodal transportation of ILSTC has held up well and managed to achieve growth. So far, the number of trains opened has reached 1,000 and is anticipated to hit 1,200 for the whole year, up over 30% year on year.