Shandong Port Group (SPG) has been ramping up an innovative effort to promote the momentous initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. SPG is a pivotal hub connecting Shandong province with the world and ensuring global supply chains at state level. It also engages in over 90 percent of the province's foreign trade in goods and serves as a logistics channel in stabilizing foreign trade, smoothing supply chains and boosting economic growth in Shandong province.

Since its establishment in August 2019, SPG has opened 43 container shipping routes that have taken the total number to nearly 300, ranking first in China's northern ports in terms of amount and density of lines.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, so far in 2020, SPG has added 32 new routes, 16 of which are international. The group has also taken several measures to promote the unimpeded mini-circulation of domestic logistics by opening port subgroups, six feeder routes and 14 domestic lines.

By late July, SPG had built 18 inland ports inside and outside the province, and opened 68 sea-rail intermodal routes in more than 30 cities across the country, ranking No 1 in ports in China in terms of intermodal transport capacity.

A logistics thoroughfare for sea-rail intermodal transport featuring "cover Shandong, radiate Yellow River, directly link to Central Asia, South Asia and Europe" has been established. Meanwhile, an inland network of "one route for one city, one port in one land, linking Shandong and opening to the world" is being quickly established.

During the 2020 Global Petroleum Trading Conference held in Qingdao July 28, SPG joined with 29 domestic and overseas traders, financial institutions and refineries to launch Shandong Port's whole-chain trade and financial service platform for petroleum products. It signifies that as the world's largest port for handling oil products, SPG will break traditional business scope, including storage and loading and unloading to promote accelerated transformation toward a port covering full chains and whole industries.

Closely following a policy of promoting a new development pattern whereby domestic and foreign markets boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay and expanding final consumption to create conditions for the upgrading of household consumption, SPG is accelerating its shift from a single port for product transport to a comprehensive port and a means of livelihood, which is resulting in exploring new forms of business.

The more challenges, the stronger the awareness of opportunities, said SPG's Party secretary and chairman, Huo Gaoyuan. Huo said SPG will continue to focus on national strategies and improve stance and standards, as part of its efforts to facilitate port development and deliver high-quality development.