The "Qilu" Europe-Asia freight train makes 1,456 trips in the first 10 months of this year. [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]

This year marks the eighth year of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Shandong Port Group, or SPG, has continued to open shipping routes to and from ports in BRI countries, bringing the route number to 317, with the highest number of routes in northern China. Eighty-seven of the company's routes directly connect with BRI countries and regions, and the firm has established sister port relations with 37 overseas ports.

In 2020, the group reported annual container throughput of 31.47 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). Furthermore, the container throughput of its subsidiary Qingdao Port surpassed Busan Port in South Korea for the first time, putting it in the top six globally and making it first in Northeast Asia.

To date, SPG's sea-rail combined transportation capacity has ranked first in China for six consecutive years. During the first 10 months of this year, the "Qilu" Europe-Asia freight train made 1,456 trips, up 14.9 percent year-on-year.

It has organized the Belt and Road Land-Sea Linkage Forum for three consecutive years.