This year marks the ninth year of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. Since then, Shandong Port Group (SPG) has vigorously responded to the initiative by joining hands with customers and shipping partners from home and abroad, in a bid to help guarantee the stability of the trade and supply chains of the BRI, and jointly bolster the economy of countries and regions involved in the BRI and the broader global community.

SPG is located at the intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is dubbed a "dual-node" for the new development paradigm. It also serves as a "bridgehead" of Japan, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, as well as the most convenient shipping outlet in the Yellow River basin. SPG has been playing an important role in  promoting the high-quality development of the BRI.

Since its establishment on Aug 6, 2019, SPG has integrated itself into the BRI and the new development pattern, and has been standing at the forefront of China's new round of reform and opening-up.

Over the past three years, SPG has made great efforts to open more shipping routes, expand its shipping capacity and improve its transshipment volume. SPG has continued to open shipping routes connecting countries and regions involved in the BRI, which has brought the total route number to 325, with its route number and density both ranking first among ports in northern China. Among them, 89 routes have directly connected BRI countries and regions, and the group has established sister port relations with 38 overseas ports. Currently, SPG has developed into a significant hub connecting BRI countries and regions.  

In 2021, the group reported a total cargo volume of 1.5 billion metric tons and a container throughput of 31.47 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 5.8 percent and 8.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, and ranked first and third across the world.

Efforts have also been made to open more freight lines, build inland ports and expand cargo categories. Faced with the current shortage of inland waterway transportation in northern China, SPG strives to develop sea-rail combined transport. It has launched 80 sea-rail combined transport routes in key inland cities and opened 30 inland ports. Its sea-rail combined transportation capacity has ranked first in China for many years in a row.

In addition to opening more routes and freight trains, SPG has also actively promoted its software power in finance and cooperation. It has organized the Belt and Road Land-Sea Linkage Forum for four consecutive years, which has delivered more benefits and made significant contributions to trade connectivity along the BRI.

With major changes unseen in a century and the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the BRI has become a significant bond for mutually beneficial cooperation and common development. SPG has expanded its global footprint from Asia to Europe and Africa by joining hands with business partners such as China COSCO Shipping Group, the world's largest integrated shipping enterprise.

In the Middle East, Qingdao Port, a subsidiary of SPG, collaborated with COSCO Shipping Group and Abu Dhabi Port Authority in United Arab Emirates (UAE) to jointly construct and operate the Abu Dhabi terminal, which has become a successful example of BRI construction between China and the UAE. In Pakistan, SPG cooperated with the Power Construction Corporation of China to operate the coal unloading terminal at the Port of Qasim, which has become a flagship project under the BRI.

Moving forward, SPG will continue to make contributions to promoting the high-quality development of the BRI, focusing on the connectivity of port facilities and international port and shipping cooperation.

Since its establishment on Aug 6, 2019, SPG integrates itself into the BRI and the new development pattern. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]