The Department of Commerce of Hunan Province recently announced the achievements of Hunan's five major international trade channels in 2023.

Northward, Hunan's China-Europe freight train service operated 1,173 trains in 2023, exceeding 1,000 trains for three consecutive years. Despite the fierce competition in various regions last year, the number ranked 4th and entered the top rank nationwide. According to the Xingsha Customs, the China-Europe (Changsha) freight train service has opened 14 normalized operation routes, reaching 100 cities of nearly 30 countries in Asia and Europe, which generally realized normalized European return train services. Meanwhile, the China-Europe freight train service has deeply integrated with Hunan's local manufacturing industry. In 2023, more than 230 special trains were operated to serve such advanced manufacturing industries as Zoomlion and Sany. The delivered automobiles and their components, construction machinery, and other equipment manufacturing products doubled the volume of the same period last year. The cargo value of Hunan enterprises transported by the Hunan's China-Europe freight train service accounted for 52% of the total, 12% higher than in 2022.

Southward, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal train service was offered in Zhuzhou, Hengyang, and Chenzhou. A total of 622 trains were operated in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 127%.

Westward, the Huaihua-ASEAN cross-border freight train service handled 455 trains last year, up 201% year on year.

The two rail-sea intermodal train services saw doubled growth than that of 2022. The proportion of local goods transported via the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal train service exceeded 90%, while that via the Huaihua-ASEAN cross-border freight train service reached 78%.

Eastward, the container throughput of the Yueyang Chenglingji Port surpassed 1.2 million TEUs. The international direct shipment to Vladivostok was opened, marking Hunan's first direct water transportation route to Russia. There were 2.5 round-trip shipments to Russia and 8.5 ones to Hong Kong in 2023.

In terms of airlines, Hunan has resumed or newly added 37 international flight routes. The number of inbound and outbound flights under the customs supervision reached 6,173, growing by 305.7% year on year.

In 2024, Hunan will prioritize the development of the professional service capabilities of the five major channels; build the internal linkage between cities and prefecture and the gathering centers to improve the coverage of the channels; and, focus on the study of building an overseas logistics system in Africa, said a person in charge of the port logistics division of the provincial commercial authority.

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

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn