Wei makes an announcement; Gao delivers a speech
On the morning of September 8, the launch ceremony of the “Huaihua International Land Port-Pinglu Canal” rail-water combined transport special train was held. Wei Zhaohui, secretary of the Huaihua Municipal Party Committee, announced the departure of the train. Gao Jingsheng, deputy secretary of the Huaihua Municipal Party Committee and acting mayor, delivered a speech. Feng Xiaoshan, second-level inspector of the Development and Reform Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Hu Huaping, secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group Co., Ltd.; and Huang Jianlong, director and senior vice president of Sany Group Co., Ltd., addressed the ceremony. Municipal leaders Li Weilin, Zhou Zhongyan and He Weiying attended the event.
The launch ceremony is held, September 8. Photo by Zhang Zhuo/ Huaihua
In his speech, Gao Jingsheng stated that in recent years, Huaihua has actively integrated into the development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China and successfully joined the "13+2" cooperative mechanism. Among all cooperative partners, the city maintains the closest ties with Guangxi. It has forged sister-city partnerships with Qinzhou, Chongzuo, Zhanjiang and other cities, and established sister-port cooperation with customs authorities in Qinzhou, Mengla and Pingxiang. Such efforts have further strengthened corridor collaboration and enhanced regional coordination.As a key backbone project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China, the Pinglu Canal has opened up a golden passage for southwestern China to break through geographical barriers and connect with global maritime markets.
Taking the maiden launch of the special train as a new opportunity, Huaihua intends to carry out pragmatic cooperation with Guangxi in policy sharing, mutual recognition of industry rules and information connectivity, and jointly explore emerging markets in ASEAN, Africa and beyond. The city also looks forward to forging ahead side by side with strategic investors including Sany Group to gather cross-regional cargo sources, and accelerate the export of high-quality products from Huaihua and Hunan, building Huaihua into a primary hub for enterprises in central and western China to access ASEAN markets and connect with the whole world.
Feng Xiaoshan noted in his speech that Huaihua is expected to fully seize the opportunity brought by the navigation of the Pinglu Canal, further expand outbound shipping channels for Huaihua and its surrounding areas and reduce logistics costs. This will enable land-sea linkage and two-way empowerment between Beibu Gulf Port and Huaihua International Land Port, setting a successful example for deepening regional cooperation between Hunan and Guangxi provinces.
The Development and Reform Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will further scale up policy support and service guarantees, formulate and introduce more competitive subsidy policies for freight trains. It will work with relevant parties to expand the logistics scale of rail-sea intermodal trains running between Huaihua and Beibu Gulf Port as well as China-Vietnam international trains, improve customs clearance efficiency, implement flat-rate pricing and full-process logistics services, and realize efficient matching of cargo sources and transport capacity as well as ports and industries. These efforts will enable more manufactured goods from Huaihua and Hunan to reach ASEAN countries and the rest of the world via the Pinglu Canal and Beibu Gulf Port.
Hu Huaping said in his address that Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group will give full play to its advantages in full-process integrated supply chain services, and build the “Huaihua-Beibu Gulf Port-ASEAN” route into a benchmark and high-quality demonstration route. The Group will help more Hunan-made products go global via maritime accesses, connect closely with ASEAN markets, and provide solid port and logistics support for the high-quality coordinated development of Hunan-Guangxi regional cooperation.
Huang Jianlong stated in his speech that Sany Group will continuously accumulate export cargo sources, promote the normalized operation of this rail-water combined transport corridor to cut costs and improve efficiency, and further deepen port-industry integration. The Group will support Huaihua in building a regional opening hub, serve the development of Hunan’s export-oriented economy, and actively participate in the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China.
The newly launched special train carries a total of 72 standard containers, mainly loaded with construction machinery and equipment manufactured by Sany Heavy Industry and local luggage products from Huaihua. It is of positive and important significance for enabling Hunan and Huaihua-made commodities to enter domestic and overseas markets.
(Translated by Dong Yue)