Liangjiang New Area: Land of Deep Opening-up and Rising Innovation

A train carrying more than 1,100 tons of chemical products departed Guoyuan Port, Liangjiang New Area on February 20 and set out to Duisburg, Germany, through China-Europe Railway Express.

Situated at the connecting point of“Belt and Road” and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the port sees the regular operation of China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) and New Western Land-sea Corridor with more than 600 trains operated in 2021, latest data show.

It is China’s largest inland river logistic port that integrates multi-modal transportation, including waterway, railway, and roads.

"Chemicals, car parts, motorcycle parts, and wood materials are currently the main products exported from Guoyuan Port. The demand has been soaring up. We saw year-on-year growth of 50% during the Spring Festival of 2022,” Xu Wenjun, an official from the port’s international logistics company, said.

Qin Shubin, a member of the Liangjiang New Area Party Work Committee and vice-director of the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, said that Liangjiang is building Guoyuan Port into a national logistics hub, which facilitates the development of an opening economy.

The port accommodates Chongqing Guoyuan Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) and the multi-modal logistics demonstration zone of China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity. Routes to Singapore, Duisburg, Chengdu, and ports along the Yangtze River have been newly opened since 2020.

According to the implementation plan of 10 significant projects released by Liangjiang, Guoyuan Port, positioned as a critical platform for inland opening up, will enhance port infrastructure and supporting facilities. At the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the port’s annual throughput will reach 30,000,000 tons.

The increasingly deepened opening-up of Liangjiang relies on the improved transportation and logistics system and the enriched industrial resources gathered here, which enables more active participation and firm competitiveness in the international market.

With efforts made on a better business environment and great importance attached to innovation, Liangjiang New Area has increasingly attracted more leading players from different industries to settle. The latest data shows that Liangjiang accommodates more than half of the Fortune Global 500 companies settled in Chongqing.

BOE Technology is a world-leading display and sensor manufacturer. Despite its substantial market share on traditional shows that once beat LG Display and Samsung, it seeks a breakthrough to seize the future.

The need for flexible display will experience a massive increase soon, as more emerging applications like smartphones, wearable devices, and ICVs (Intelligent connected vehicles) are accepted by customers, said Liu Xiaodong, chairman of the company.

BOE Technology invested 46.5 billion yuan (about $7.35 billion) for this opportunity, developing a new AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) flexible production line in its Chongqing factory. This production line, which has been operated since late December 2021, will provide cutting-edged flexible display solutions for small and medium-sized electronic devices that target the high-end market.

Chongqing is the core base of BOE Technology for its display industry and the strategical base for the Internet of Things. Other than its 6th generation AMOLED production line, the company has implemented the other five projects, including its new TFT-LCD product line and an innovation center for developing innovative systems, with over 86 billion yuan ($13.6 billion) of investments.

Liangjiang New Area is the first national-level new area in inland China. It shoulders the vital mission to empower Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and play a leading role in China’s Western Development Strategy.

“Liangjiang New Area will keep promoting innovation as the top priority, and actively explore emerging fields like big data smartization, to transfer technological advantage to industrial advantage,” said Duan Chenggang, a member of the Standing Committee of Chongqing CPC Municipal Committee, secretary of the Liangjiang New Area Party Work Committee.

(BY Guo Shuyu, Dong Guannan, Liangjiang New Area Media Center)