The nameplate unveiling ceremony for the new Shandong Port Land-sea International Logistics (Xinjiang) Co Ltd – a distribution unit of massive seaport operator Shandong Port Group, or SPG – was held on April 6 in Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Both East China's Shandong province and Xinjiang are two significant regions along China's Belt and Road Initiative or BRI and the Yellow River basin. Their development strategies have converged, in terms of serving such national strategies as the BRI and the environmental and ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

The unveiling of the branch company will reportedly seek to further leverage the comprehensive logistics services of SPG – one of the world's biggest seaport operators, based in Qingdao city in Shandong – and capitalize on the progressive business policies of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Through building logistics parks and logistics channels in Xinjiang, SPG will reportedly aim to help boost Xinjiang's economic development.

Modern commercial ventures between Shandong and Xinjiang go back decades. Back in 1996, Qingdao Port set up an office in Xinjiang. Relying on Xinjiang's Alataw Pass and Horgos Port – the two land ports through which trains enter or exit China – Qingdao Port launched the Qingdao-Xinjiang cargo train.

Qingdao Port has offered maritime logistics services for inland businesses, by moving the sea gate of Qingdao to the doorsteps of Xinjiang. Rizhao Port also set up its branch company in Xinjiang – the Rizhao Port Logistics Park Co Ltd – further expanding its sea-rail intermodal transportation and transit transport logistics modes.

In 2019, SPG held a service promotion meeting, aiming to boost the Shandong-Xinjiang two-way logistics channel. Currently, 20 percent of Xinjiang exports are transported to every corner of the globe through SPG's logistics services.

With the establishment of the Shandong Port Land-sea International Logistics (Xinjiang) Co Ltd as a new starting point, SPG plans to join forces with the International Land Port of Urumqi to step up the development of the Xinjiang International Inland Port public platform and a regional logistics center.

Currently, SPG operates some 306 shipping routes. Taking advantage of that, the two sides will advance their east-west connections and land-sea links, establishing a one-stop logistics thoroughfare for import and export companies in Xinjiang to go east.

The movement of exports from Xinjiang to Shandong is also expected to help SPG improve its overall competitiveness, market presence and commercial influence.