The Hunan Port Group, a subsidiary of the Hunan Provincial Xiangshui Group, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hubei Port Group and the Jiangxi Port Group on April 22, 2023. The three port groups agreed to join hands in constructing combined ports in the urban cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to give rise to regional economic development and facilitate construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Signing ceremony of the three port groups. (Photo provided by the correspondent)

According to the agreement, the three port groups will jointly explore the rail-sea and rail-waterway multimodal transport business aiming at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the new western land-sea corridor; collaborate in the regional and international container shipment routes operation; and, construct a major logistics channel and an access to overseas markets in the central regions of China. They will share experiences on the construction and operation of the navigation and hydropower hubs on the Xiangjiang, Hanjiang, and Ganjiang rivers, improvement of waterways, and operation and management of the ports, to promote high-quality watershed management of the three rivers.

Beyond that, the three groups will cooperate in developing supply chains of the advantageous sectors such as sand, coal, and wood business, prioritize each other for the resources of storage and shipping capacity, boost financial collaboration in supply chains, plan for cross-regional logistics and industrial parks, jointly optimize supply chain services, and expand bulk commodity trade markets.

Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces are linked by a shared landscape of towering mountains and winding rivers, and are united by rich cultural tradition, and integrated economy and trade. Relying on the Yangtze River, which is dubbed as the "gold waterway", and the water transport resources of the Ganjiang, Xiangjiang, and Hanjiang rivers, the three provinces have operated the "Yueyang Port-Yangluo Port-Jiujiang Port" container shipping route in a regular manner which can cover their major economic regions along the rivers. In 2022, the cargo throughput of the ports along the Yangtze River totaled 3.59 billion tons, with 610 million tons handled in Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan