A business delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrived in Zhuzhou on March 15, paying a visit to the Zhuzhou Land Port for China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation and the China-Africa Inland Port Coffee. The delegates held discussions with relevant local departments on topics such as jointly building an international logistics corridor linking the China-Africa Economic and Trade Inland Port to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as deepening cooperation in mineral resource imports and equipment exports.

Currently, four coastal ports, including Guangzhou Port, have established inland ports in Zhuzhou. The "Hunan-Guangdong Maritime Silk" express service and the Hunan-Shenzhen-Hong Kong freight train service have been successively launched. Zhuzhou has opened seven new freight routes to Africa, Europe, and South America, with 25 direct flights to all ports of Africa. Last year, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa intermodal transport service handled 711 train trips, a year-on-year increase of 24.1%.

Zhuzhou has focused on consolidating foundations and pursuing innovations while building itself into a renowned manufacturing powerhouse. The inland city has established an open platform system to facilitate the shipment of "Made-in-Zhuzhou" products, thereby achieving a leapfrog in its openness.

Zhuzhou has expanded into emerging markets such as countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP member countries. The city has launched a series of business activities in the Middle East and Africa, signing a number of key projects with the Middle Eastern countries and establishing logistics centers and overseas warehouses in Nigeria and Egypt. Last year, the city hosted the first China-Ethiopia Coffee Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference, and initiated the Hunan Integrated Domestic and Foreign Trade Development Expo, as well as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo-- Zhuzhou Land Port Cooperation and Exchange Event, to promote Zhuzhou's industries and products to go global.

Zhuzhou has paid high attention to building platforms for opening up to the outside world and has established an open development platform system encompassing "one corridor, one center, and one pilot zone," namely, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport Corridor, the Tongtangwan Bonded Logistics Center, and the Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone. Since its inaugural run in September 2021, the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Rail-Sea Intermodal Transport Corridor has operated 2,147 train trips, covering over 80 countries and 170 ports. In 2025, the Tongtangwan Bonded Logistics Center recorded imports and exports totaling 1.05 billion CNY, ranking 39th nationwide. Zhuzhou's total import and export transaction volume of the cross-border e-commerce and its growth rate both rank among the top in the province.

Last year, Zhuzhou saw 92 new enterprises engaged in foreign trade, with total annual import and export volume reaching 26.285 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 6.53%. The scale of Zhuzhou's foreign trade is projected to grow from 20.4 billion CNY in 2020 to 26.29 billion CNY in 2025.

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

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn