It was recently learned that the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) logistics network now covers 571 ports in 127 countries and regions worldwide, becoming a powerful engine driving high-quality regional economic development. In the first half of this year, ILSTC freight trains transported a total of 746,000 TEUs of goods, a year-on-year increase of 76.9%. The categories of goods transported have expanded from over 50 in 2017 to more than 1,300 today, reaching 158 stations across 73 cities in 18 provinces of China.
As the logistics and operational hub of the ILSTC, Chongqing has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 30% in cargo volume transported via the corridor in recent years. In the first half of this year, its cargo volume and value increased by 28% and 22%, respectively. In 2024, Chongqing exported nearly 500,000 vehicles, with motorcycle exports ranking third nationwide, and its total foreign trade exceeded 710 billion yuan. According to data released by Chongqing Customs on July 17, the city’s total import and export value in the first half of the year reached 365.18 billion yuan, up 7.6% year-on-year. Exports amounted to 252.2 billion yuan (up 7%), while imports totaled 112.98 billion yuan (up 9.1%).
Chongqing’s foreign trade “circle of friends” has become more diverse, with ASEAN emerging as its largest trading partner. Trade with ASEAN reached 63.87 billion yuan, a 17.5% increase. During the same period, trade with Belt and Road partner countries hit 162.38 billion yuan (up 3%), while trade with other RCEP member countries reached 103.94 billion yuan (up 2%). Trade with Latin America, other BRICS members, and partner countries grew by 18% and 25.3%, respectively. Export momentum continued to renew, with electric vehicles, motorcycles, and mobile phones becoming key growth drivers. The vitality of foreign trade entities was further unleashed, as the number of enterprises with actual import-export performance exceeded 4,000, reaching 4,324—an increase of 511 year-on-year. Among them, Chongqing’s private enterprises recorded imports and exports of 177.12 billion yuan, up 19.4%.
Notably, cross-border road freight services, as a vital force of the ILSTC, saw explosive growth in the first half of the year, with 7,593 trips (up 194% year-on-year) and cargo value of 8.026 billion yuan (up 437%). Chongqing’s innovative logistics model, the “ASEAN Express,” has created new scenarios for deepening industrial and supply chain cooperation with ASEAN and Europe. Its core advantage lies in enabling customers to complete cross-border processes with “one-time entrustment, one container for the whole journey, and one bill of lading,” significantly simplifying procedures and efficiently bridging the “last mile” between China-Europe freight trains and the ILSTC. In the first half of the year, the “ASEAN Express” transported goods worth over 2 billion yuan and launched three routes: Duisburg (Germany)–Chongqing–Laos/Vietnam/Thailand, covering high-end manufacturing sectors such as vehicles and parts, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and home appliances, as well as daily necessities. Meanwhile, by integrating resources from China-Europe freight trains and the ILSTC, the “ASEAN Express” has gradually established a comprehensive distribution system, deploying over 40 overseas warehouses across more than 20 Eurasian countries and regions, including Germany, Hungary, Poland, Thailand, and Laos, with one self-owned overseas warehouse.
Chongqing is currently the only city in China with all five types of national logistics hubs: port, land port, airport, production service, and trade service. As the logistics and operational hub of the ILSTC, Chongqing continues to make sustained and long-term efforts to build a high-level, high-quality new pattern of co-consultation, co-construction, and shared benefits for the corridor. It actively integrates into and serves major national strategies, playing a greater role in promoting the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the ILSTC. Chongqing has taken the lead in establishing the cross-regional comprehensive operation platform for the ILSTC—Land-Sea Corridor Operation Co., Ltd.—jointly built by “13+2” provinces and cities (12 western provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities, Hainan Province, Zhanjiang City of Guangdong Province, and Huaihua City of Hunan Province). To date, 10 provincial platform companies have been set up along the corridor, with overseas institutions established in Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia. Guided by the principles of “unified branding, unified rules, and unified operations,” the ILSTC’s construction is advancing steadily. The virtuous cycle of “corridor driving logistics, logistics driving trade, and trade driving industry” is becoming increasingly prominent, showcasing the vibrant dynamism of an inland open economy. A new development pattern of land-sea connectivity has taken initial shape, accelerating efforts to build Chongqing into a key strategic pivot for western development in the new era, a comprehensive inland open hub, and a leader in high-level, high-quality international cooperation in inland regions.
By Wu Jing, All-Media Reporter; Correspondent Xu Wei
