Chongqing- Chongqing delegation held a plenary session on March 3 decided to submit the suggestions about high-level construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) for the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).
The national plan addressed the importance of Chongqing as the channel logistics and operation organization center of the ILSTC.
Connected to the Silk Road Economic Belt in the north and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the south, the ILSTC high-level construction is of great significance to the country's opening-up pattern.
Railway cargo in Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park. (iChongqing file photo)
ILSTC advancements
The ILSTC has experienced from an initiative to the current joint construction, from serving western China to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and extending to the rest of the world.
Chongqing took the lead in promoting ILSTC's high-level international cooperation with Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, and other countries.
Relying on the corridor's advantages, Chongqing successfully delivered anti-epidemic materials to ASEAN countries, launched the first China-Laos railway motorcycle train, and the first return train for agricultural products from Thailand.
In addition to regional cooperation, the advances in operational efficiency are also outstanding. The ILSTC has formed three types of transportation: rail-sea combined trains, international railway trains, and cross-border highway shuttles.
The total number of China-Laos international trains has exceeded 200 since its opening on December 3, 2021. The ILSTC with the China-Laos Railway and the Yangtze River Golden Waterway have achieved 10,000 and 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of intermodal transport, respectively, effectively connecting the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Chongqing has accumulated more than 30,000 TEUs of service goods for the surrounding and northwestern regions, pushing vigorously for the western regions' development.
The ILSTC construction has made advances with joint efforts. However, there is a long way to go. Now it is plagued with significant shortages in basic infrastructure, channel market competitiveness, and international cooperation mechanism.
The first ILSTC China-Laos Railway Departs from Chongqing Jianjin to Vientiane. (iChongqing file photo)
Four Suggestions on high-level Construction
Chongqing delegation saw that a stable cooperation mechanism with countries worldwide is urgently needed, not least with the RCEP member countries and ASEAN countries, while the ILSTC's expansion is radiating 315 ports in 107 countries and regions at present.
Equally importantly, major projects construction could guarantee the cargo service capacity of the ILSTC main railway line.
Specifically, the plan proposes building the road from Chongqing to the Gulf of Tonkin via Guiyang and Nanning in the east access while Huaihua and Liuzhou in the west.
Moreover, Chongqing could pioneer building a public information platform with the regions along the route to break through the information barriers across the railways, shipping, and highways.
In addition, promoting the quality and efficiency of channel operation is another suggestion from Chongqing.
For example, the railway and international shipping systems are not well connected, encompassing the differences in product names, product codes, classification standards, and safety standards between the two transportation types.
So Chongqing group recommends that the related government support the integration of the railway and shipping systems to push for the efficient operation of rail-sea combined transport.
Merely allowing expanding ILSTC cooperation with overseas is not enough. To put initiatives into effect, China should offer financial incentives for constructing corridor infrastructure and supporting projects, serving railways, dry ports, container yards, and public information platforms.