Chongqing - In the transition zone between the ocean and the inland, at the intersection of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, a city has given its blueprint for development. 

The city of Chongqing strives to be a leading power in China's inland opening up, driven by the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC).

iChongqing recently interviewed a company, Lee&Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd., a world-leading paper and pulp manufacturer that takes advantage of this trade corridor to expand its business internationally and domestically. 

Established in 1994, Lee&Man manufactures liner boards of various grades, and corrugating mediums of different specifications used for industrial packaging, pulp, and tissue paper. 

Its factories have been distributed in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Jiangxi, etc. The company also has production bases in Vietnam, Malaysia, and other countries. The annual capacity is over 7.385 million tons. 

Lee&Man used to be importing raw materials via traditional river-sea combined transportation, which took about 35 days to deliver. However, relying on the ILSTC, the delivery time has been shortened to about 20 days.

How does the process go? Firstly, the ocean vessel ships the raw materials from ports in Southeast Asian countries to Qinzhou Port, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Then, the freight train carries the goods from Qinzhou Port to Guoyuan Port in Chongqing, China. Finally, a vessel ships the goods to Chongqing's Yongchuan Port, which is next to the company.

Based on the high efficiency and convenience of the ILSTC, Lee & Man finds the best way to cooperate with Southeast Asian countries. Meanwhile, they transport tissue paper rolls and pulp to coastal cities such as Guangdong Province via the ILSTC as well and then export to overseas countries after further processing.