Direct rail to EU, bustling river port boost inland city
Changsha New Port handled 53,800 containers in the first six months of this year, a half-year record.
With a range of trade measures continuing, companies in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, are finding it easier to do business globally.
The latest move is the direct Hunan-Europe express freight train that went into service on Oct 30.The first train — filled with steel pipes, tea, chemicals and machinery — arrived in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, on Nov 9.
It took only 11 days for the train to travel 6,146 kilometers between Changsha and the Central Asian city, 10 days faster than before.
A second train also departed from Changsha on the same day and reached Duisburg in Germany after an 18-day journey.
A third train departed on Nov 21, traveling all the way to Russia.
Direct rail has helped free local companies from their dependence on sea transport for imports and exports, said local officials.
They said prospects for the Hunan-Europe direct cargo train are very promising because the European Union has been the biggest trade partner of Hunan for years.
Last year 1,627 freight cars were shipped from Hunan to Central Asia, Russia and the EU, according to Chen Huabing, director of the Changsha Freight Center of Guangzhou Railway Co.
The newly launched direct rail service will also help connect other cities in Central China with Europe and central Asia, said Zhou Dongwen, an official in charge of the HunanEurope express train service.
Changsha also has advantage in water transportation as the city boasts the largest port on the Xiangjiang River — Changsha New Port — one of the largest tributaries of the Yangtze River.
Statistics show Changsha New Port handled 53,800 containers in the first half of this year, up 28.34 percent from the same period in 2013.It set the half-year record for container throughout.
"The port will handle even more as the Yangtze River Economic Belt involving 11 provincial regions further develops," said Tang Zhongliang, chairman of Hunan Changsha New Port Co.
"In the first half of the year, 21,833 ships with some 14 million tons of cargo passed the lock of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha,"said Li Lijun, an official at the Changsha Maritime Safety Bureau"
She said 94 of the ships can each carry up to 5,000 tons of cargo.
For air transport, Changsha Huanghua International Airport will also have new services to facilitate economic cooperation between the city and its overseas trade partners.
The airport runs regular flights from Changsha to foreign cities including Frankfurt, Germany, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Seoul and Inchon in South Korea, and Japan's Osaka.
"The airport will start service from Changsha to San Francisco by the end of the year,"said an official from the airport.
"It will be the first non-stop flight between Changsha and the United States."He added that the airport also plans to increase flights to cities in East Asia, Europe and the United States.
Changsha Deputy Mayor Chen Zehui (second left) thanks a foreign expert for his contribution to the city.
Investment
A total of 1,459 foreign direct investment projects started in Changsha from 2005 to 2013 worth a total $22.76 billion, said officials from the city's commerce bureau.
To date 51 Fortune Global 500 companies from the overseas have directly invested in the city, including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Co, a huge impetus for Changsha's economic development.
Mapletree Co, a subsidiary of Temasek, has signed two agreements worth $350 million with the Changsha High-tech Zone for building an industrial park for modern services in the zone.
"We've made the right decision to cooperate with the government of the Changsha Hightech Zone," said Lu Shi, CEO of Mapletree Greater China.
"We decided to move planned projects from other cities because we found the local governments in Changsha are very efficient."
Local companies in the city are also vigorously expanding in the global market.Talkweb Co, one of the nation's most successful online game developers, has cooperated with overseas peers including Finland's Rovio Co, known for creating Angry Birds, and Electronic Arts Co in the United States.
In March, Talkweb increased its share in Concept Art House Co, a leading US art service provider for mobile games. The two companies jointly set up Spellgun Co focusing on the distribution of smartphone games.
Talkweb listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2008. It also opened subsidiaries in South Korea and Hong Kong last year.
Talkweb's global expansion has been achieved through partnerships with leading overseas game companies.
Foreign trade
Changsha's combined exports and imports hit $8.65 billion in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 23.5 percent from the same period in 2013.
From 2005 to 2013, they totaled $51.18 billion.
The city has business ties with 192 countries and regions.
Trade between Changsha and its well-established partners including the US, Japan and Hong Kong surged by 93.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2014 compared to that in the same period of the previous year, while the trade volume with emerging markets including Latin America and the Middle East jumped 115 percent.
Its exports to emerging markets now make up more than 30 percent of the total.
Its exports of electromechanical and high-tech products increased by 21.2 percent and 28.5 percent in 2013, higher than the growth rate of Changsha's exports.
Changsha's companies have invested in 190 overseas projects worth $3.29 billion from 2008 to 2013.
Labor service companies in the city have sent 66,952 workers to more than 50 countries including Germany, Japan, Malaysia and Algeria in the six years.Some local companies have also made headway in globalization.Const ruct ion machine builder Sany Heavy Industry Co purchased German Putzmeister Co, the world's largest concrete pump maker, in 2012, while another heavy machinery giant in the city, Zoomlion Co, bought Italy's concrete equipment maker CIFA Co in 2008.
Sinohydro Bureau 8 Co and Hunan Construction Engineering Group Co have contracted construction projects for years in other countries and regions, which also helps promote the city's equipment exports and create more overseas jobs for workers from Changsha.
Changsha-headquartered Zoomlion, one of the nation's top heavy machinery manufacturers, is also active in the global market with subsidiaries in more than 40 countries.
