Ningbo speeds up the implementation of One Belt One Road
- Details
- Category: Ningbo Business
- Published: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 10:38
In 2014, the cargo throughput of Ningbo Port hit 526 million tons and the container throughput broke through 18.7 million TEU, ranking fourth and fifth respectively among the world ports. In the first half of 2015, the container throughput of Ningbo Port grew by 9.3%, exceeding Hong Kong for the first time and becoming world No.4. Relying on a world-class port, Ningbo actively participated in the construction of One Belt One Road and put forward the construction of "Port Economic Circle" to promote urban internationalization and transformation.
"Port Economic Circle": Enhancing Port Competitiveness
On the afternoon of July 21st, a heavy rain suddenly came down. At the No.1 berth of Ningbo Port Co., Ltd. Beilun Second Container Terminal Branch, two international cargo ships were loading and unloading goods. Meanwhile, the terminal was bustling with trucks. Ningbo Port is busy all the year round and has set the world record of single crane efficiency of 235.6 untis per hour.
The Beilun Port Railway Station is also quite busy. Under the strategy of "Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport", Ningbo Port carries middle-west provinces and cities'dream of going out to sea. Once the freight trains from Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province, Yiwu and Taizhou arrive, the goods will be unloaded on the spot and shipped to South-East Asia, Europe and Africa.
"How to transform a big world port to a strong world port? This is a question we'd been thinking about." said Tong Mengda, chief economist of Ningbo Port Co., Ltd. Ningbo Port has extended its business from single port management to port logistics. At the same time, capital operation has been strengthened. Port management, port logistics and capital operation promote each other and help Ningbo Port to become stronger. Ningbo Port's goal is to build itself into an advanced international deepwater hub port and China's important modern port logistics center.
"Port Economic Circle": Improving Urban Radiation
"One Belt": In recent years, Ningbo attaches great importance to the development of "Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport" and "River-Sea Intermodal Transport". The trains go as far as to Xinjiang, Xi'an, Lanzhou and other cities on the "One Belt". Meanwhile, Ningbo optimizes the dry port layout of key cities. "One Road": Ningbo has established trade and investment relationships with 218 countries and regions, most of which are countries along the "One Belt One Road".
Ports bring prosperity to Ningbo, Ningbo's enterprises and industries. Ningbo C.S.I Power & Machinery Group Co., Ltd. mainly produces marine diesel engine and diesel generator set. The general manager and party secretary Wu Jie said that their company's "going out" route is consistent with the south line of Maritime Silk Road in the 21st century. Since 1999, the company has started exploring market in West Africa and transformed single product sales to project package. He said, "We will not only go out but also set root there. Recently, we have established cooperation with Ningbo Bang businessmen by constructing an industrial park in West Africa to radiate the surrounding markets."
"Port Economic Circle": Promoting Industrial Force
Relying on port economy, enterprises like Ningbo Commodity Exchange and Ningbo Shipping Exchange have stimulated the producer services. Ningbo Commodity Exchange went into operation at the beginning of 2012. In 2014, the money transacted reached 448.2 billion yuan. Zhu Jinxiang, the general manager, said: "We were given the title of National Engineering Laboratory of E-commerce Transaction Technology by National Development and Reform Commission recently. The core of bulk commodity is logistics, supply chain management and supply chain finance. Our task is to explore the innovation of Internet + Commodity and Internet + Finance." Through their platform, enterprises are provided the total service from transaction, clearing to logistics and finance, realizing transaction standardization and physical delivery individualization. In Ningbo Shipping Exchange, apart from constructing Ningbo shipping booking platform and smart shipping platform, they also release the Maritime Silk Road index since 2013. At present, the price index of exporting containers released by Ningbo has become an important part of comprehensive index of Maritime Silk Road.
In the first half of 2015, Ningbo's regional GDP totaled 364.52 billion yuan, up 8.5% from a year earlier. Ningbo's service industry contributed 63.2% of the city's economic growth.
In opening to the outside world, Ningbo has a larger first-mover advantage. Lu Ziyue, the mayor, said: "We need to speed up the implementation of One Belt One Road in Ningbo. By deepening opening up, Ningbo will accelerate the transformation and upgrading. The Chinese economy has entered the New Normal. Ningbo will improve its economy quality and realize transformation in the expansion of economy quantity. In docking the strategies of One Belt One Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, we will take the initiative to improve Ningbo's internationalization, create a dynamic Ningbo and realize sustainable development by building Port Economic Circle."
