At the factory of TBEA Hengyang Transformer, a manufacturing company in Hunan province, workers are busy testing transformers for export to Pakistan.

Such work has been taking place recently in the company as it received a slew of orders due by the end of this year from overseas clients.

As a major manufacturer in China's transformer industry, TBEA has made internationalization its strategic priority for transformation and development. The company has established 34 permanent overseas offices across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other regions.

Its products have been exported to more than 60 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, said Chong Yanmin, general manager of TBEA and a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Over the past five years, the company has signed equipment integration export contracts with a cumulative value of $570 million, Chong said.

TBEA is a great example of Hunan's foreign trade development. In recent years, Hunan has stepped up efforts to develop itself as a highland of reform and opening-up among inland areas and to participate in the construction of the BRI.

In 2022, the total foreign trade of Hunan topped 700 billion yuan ($100.35 billion), with a growth rate of 12.5 percentage points higher than the national level, official data showed. The province's foreign trading has maintained double-digit growth for six years straight. Its paid-in foreign capital and foreign investment both ranked first in provinces across Central China.

Hunan has established trade partnerships with 227 countries and regions, and local companies have developed businesses in 109 countries and regions. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and the European Union were the first three trade partners of Hunan, with a trade volume increase of 56.8 percent, 3.4 percent and 2.7 percent year-on-year in 2022, according to Zhu Guangyao, head of Changsha Customs.

In November, the first China-Europe freight train was launched, departing from Xiangxiang city to Moscow. It marked the city's first step into the international market.

"The opening of the freight train service has provided us with convenient transportation, reduced our logistics costs and improved our logistics efficiency," said Mao Xianyan, a manager of APT Medical, a medical equipment manufacturer and supplier in Hunan.

Of more than 20 foreign trade businesses in Xiangxiang, about half export goods to Europe. That means they rely heavily on sea and air transport. However, the launch of the freight train has provided a stable route for them to expand in international markets, which improves the efficiency of product delivery and helps enhance competitiveness, local officials said.

The freight train is the epitome of Hunan's development of international logistics. In recent years, Hunan has collaborated with relevant customs departments to promote its international logistics services. In 2022, the freight trains from Hunan have conducted more than 1,000 trips, ranking third nationally.

Moreover, the province has become the third inland port with the capacity to handle 1 million standard containers in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Hunan has also opened air cargo routes to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Hunan has opened all-cargo air routes from Changsha to New York, Los Angeles, Osaka, Mexico City and other destinations in South America. As of 2022, Hunan had opened 10 international air cargo routes.

Hunan has built a comprehensive network with its air transport hub set in Changsha; sea transport in Yueyang; railway in Zhuzhou, and cargo transportation alliances in Huaihua.

Apart from transport channels, opening-up platforms have injected impetus to Hunan's logistics. In September 2020, the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone was established. In 2022, the FTZ achieved a total import and export value of 213.59 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.8 percent. It has contributed one-third of the foreign trade of Hunan over the past two years.

Among its peers in the country, the Hunan FTZ is the only one designated as a pilot innovation zone for deepening trade cooperation between China and Africa. The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which is permanently hosted in Hunan, has enhanced the province's advantages in opening-up.

Zhou Haibing, vice-governor of the province, said: "Hunan will strengthen a batch of competitive open platforms, focusing on integration with the BRI and expanding economic and trade cooperation with Africa."

Source：China Daily