Xinhua News Agency, Harbin, May 19 (reporter Gu Qianjiang, Li Jianping, Sun Xiaoyu) Open the "window" of the northernmost free trade zone, deeply integrate into the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and strive to build an international cooperation platform... Heilongjiang Province seized the major opportunity of comprehensive revitalization of the Northeast, built a new highland for China's opening to the north, and worked hard to realize the magnificent turn of "border to frontier".
In the first quarter, the total import and export volume of the province increased 10.3% year on year, 5.3 percentage points higher than that of the whole country. Among them, exports increased by 52% year on year, 47.1 percentage points higher than the national level, becoming a new highlight of foreign trade.
Open the northernmost "window"
In Heihe City in May, Dazi fragrant flowers are blooming all over the hills, full of vitality. With the sound of a whistle, a special timber train from abroad slowly entered the Heihe area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The 62 TEUs and 3000 cubic meters of timber on the train will be transported to the processing workshop of Heilongjiang New Silk Road Forest Products Co., Ltd.
"We have 12000 square meters of factory buildings overseas, which produce rotary veneer and other primary processing products and then transport them back to Heihe for further processing. This special timber train provides sufficient raw materials for our high-end all birch plywood production and manufacturing projects." Yang Zhendong, deputy general manager of the company, introduced that the daily processing capacity of Heihe factory has reached 100 cubic meters, and the products are used for furniture manufacturing and interior decoration.
This cross-border timber transport line is a microcosm of the continuous development and innovation of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in the past five years. Since its inauguration in August 2019, the pilot free trade zone has shouldered the important task of building a hub for China's regional cooperation with Russia and Northeast Asia. With institutional innovation as the core, it has made bold experiments in such fields as the transformation of government functions, investment facilitation, trade transformation and upgrading, financial reform and innovation, and cross-border cooperation. It has summarized a number of institutional innovation achievements and reform experience, and foreign trade has constantly reached new heights. From January to March this year, the import and export of the pilot free trade zone reached 15.477 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.6%, accounting for 19.4% of the province.
At the express cross-border e-commerce customs supervision center in Harbin area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the staff are busy placing the packages one by one in the tray and sending them to the security detector through the conveyor belt. The customs staff stared at the screen and carefully examined each cargo.
Since its opening last year, this center has provided cross-border e-commerce with one-stop services from declaration to tax refund, finance, customs clearance, and created an efficient cross-border e-commerce channel. Since its establishment, Harbin Area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has launched 195 independent innovation cases, 49 of which have been selected as provincial innovation practice cases.
"Our goods, including toys, clothing and daily necessities, can be delivered to customers in North America within one day." Han Yong, chairman of Harbin New Area Storage and Transportation Management Co., Ltd., said that this is all due to the efficient services provided by the express cross-border e-commerce customs supervision center.
In the past five years, China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has planted "experimental fields" into "high-yield fields", creating the achievement of "contributing about one fifth of the actually used foreign capital and one seventh of the foreign trade import and export of the province with three ten thousandths of the area of the province", focusing on foreign cooperation, reducing logistics costs We have made in-depth exploration in cultivating characteristic industries, new formats and new models, and have achieved more than 300 institutional innovations.
Smooth connection between Europe and Asia
On March 14, a China Europe regular train loaded with 1300 tons of amino acid in 55 containers departed from Harbin International Container Center Station to Tilburg, Netherlands, tens of thousands of kilometers away, marking the successful operation of the first China Europe regular line from Heilongjiang to the Netherlands.
"The transportation time of goods is saved by two thirds, and the transportation distance is reduced by one half..." Liang Chuan, the head of Harbin International Container Center Station, said that previously, some local enterprises relied on sea containers for their goods transportation. Now, the use of China Europe Express (Harbin Tilburg) can save a lot of time, which is more conducive to enterprises' exploration of the European market.
Connectivity is an important foundation for regional economic integration and a necessary condition for achieving global coordinated development. The steady operation of the China EU train has effectively promoted economic and trade exchanges between China and countries jointly building the "Belt and Road", deepened international production capacity cooperation, and accelerated the cross-border flow of factor resources.
According to the data of China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd., since this year, the traffic volume of the "East Passage" of China Europe trains at the railway ports of Manzhouli, Suifenhe and Tongjiang has exceeded 2000 trains and transported 210000 TEUs of goods, up 7% and 6% respectively year on year, hitting a new high in the same period of history, and the trains have achieved stable growth.
As the high-quality co construction of the "Belt and Road" goes deeper and deeper, Heilongjiang Province, which has a 2981 km long border line and many national first-class ports, actively integrates into the co construction of the "Belt and Road", constantly improves the construction of cross-border channels, and significantly improves the customs clearance capacity and facilitation of ports.
At the freight yard of Suifenhe Port, the largest railway port in Heilongjiang Province, cranes roared, containers were loaded and unloaded orderly, and China Europe trains were busy shuttling. Driven by the "Belt and Road" initiative, the freight volume at this port is increasing year by year, and the number of China Europe trains is also showing a good trend of steady growth.
"In March this year, the number of China Europe trains running in Suifenhe Station in a single month reached 92, a record high, and achieved double-digit growth for five consecutive months on a year-on-year basis." Li Yigang, deputy director of the Suifenhe Station Handover Office of China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd., said that the southern yard of Suifenhe Station is undergoing construction and reconstruction, and after completion, it will significantly improve the capacity of receiving and departure trains, and improve the transportation efficiency of China Europe trains.
With its advantages of all-weather and large traffic volume, China Europe Express has become an important carrier of connectivity and mutual benefit between China and countries jointly building the "Belt and Road". After leaving the country via the "East Passage" of the China Europe Train, it can reach more than 10 European countries, and the inbound train can reach 60 cities such as Harbin, Xi'an and Chengdu.
Xing Guangcheng, a researcher of the China Frontier Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the strategic docking of mutual benefit and win-win can release the economic potential of jointly building the "Belt and Road" countries, accumulate the potential energy of opening up to connect Europe and Asia and radiate the world, promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and create a new growth pole.
Build a world sharing stage
A hundred years ago, Harbin became one of the economic and cultural centers of the Far East because of the railway connection with the world, and the combination of Chinese and foreign merchants gathered together; Now, the exhibition has attracted much attention. It is interconnected, cooperative and shared to build a new platform for high-level opening up.
The 8th China Russia Expo with the theme of "cooperation, mutual trust and opportunities" was held in Harbin from May 16 to 21, with more than 120 Chinese and foreign delegations from more than 40 countries and regions participating.
The international exhibition area of the China Russia Expo is like a "global village", where featured products from all over the world converge, attracting exhibitors and buyers from all over the world. Many foreign participants pay more attention to the "China opportunity" provided by the China Russia Expo.
Li Jie, a 35 year old Ghanaian boy, is attending the China Russia Expo for the second time. He and his five companions brought home special products such as African drums, wooden masks, shea butter, etc. "China has a big market and it is beautiful here," he said in less fluent Chinese.
In addition to the display and exchange of featured goods, the China Russia Expo also held a series of supporting activities in various fields around cultural exchanges, medical education, etc. "After ten years, the China Russia Expo has become a great stage for the world to share the achievements of China's high-level opening-up," said Chen Shijun, president of the Heilongjiang Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Heilongjiang, striving to open up, is not only the China Russia Expo.
The World 5G Conference, China International New Material Industry Expo, Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair... Heilongjiang Province, through holding a series of international events, deepens exchanges with countries jointly building the "Belt and Road", superimposes the policy effect of China's northernmost free trade zone, and extends its radiation to Europe and other regions on the basis of consolidating the market in Northeast Asia.
Build an achievement display platform, build a platform to promote internal and external double circulation exchange, and consolidate the cooperation platform for investment attraction. Heilongjiang, relying on its geographical advantages and China's super large market advantages, has attracted countries to actively use this platform to expand markets and deepen cooperation. Looking forward to the future, China's high-level opening to the north will open wider and wider, which will surely inject strong impetus into the development and prosperity of Northeast Asia and even the world.
