Zhanjiang deepens ties with Hainan, integrates into New Western Land-Sea Corridor

The port city of Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, stepped up collaboration with Hainan island while deepening its integration into the New Western Land-Sea Corridor during the 14th five-year plan period (2021-25), the city's top official said on Monday.

Speaking during an open day of the Zhanjiang delegation at the annual session of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, Yu Gang, Party secretary of Zhanjiang, said the city has sought to leverage its geographic position on the Leizhou Peninsula to strengthen links between domestic and international markets.

According to Yu, Zhanjiang has built an industrial system over the past five years centered on green steel, petrochemicals, energy, food production, and the marine economy, often referred to locally as the "Four Green plus One Blue Industries". The annual output value of the green petrochemicals cluster and the modern agriculture and food industry cluster has exceeded 100 billion yuan ($14.29 billion), making them key drivers of local growth.

Zhanjiang also expanded its marine economy, with the number of gravity-based marine ranch net cages and large-scale aquaculture platforms ranking first in Guangdong province. The city's overall competitiveness in the marine economy ranks third in the province.

Mayor Li Yongyi said the municipal government has strengthened coordination mechanisms to support closer collaboration with Hainan and plans to continue that trend. It intends to seek policy support at the national level and promote cross-regional working arrangements at the provincial level. Regular exchanges between Party and government delegations in Zhanjiang and Haikou are also planned, he said.

Improving transportation links across the Qiongzhou Strait remains a priority. Li said the city will further develop its multimodal transport network encompassing sea, road, air, and rail systems. Measures include optimizing operations at Xuwen Port, strengthening coordination with Hainan's Yangpu Port and Guangzhou's Nansha Port, and establishing a port and shipping channel layout tailored to the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The city also plans to complete construction on the Hezhou-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway and begin the Zhanjiang-Haikou High-Speed Railway project.

In aviation, Zhanjiang plans to expand flight services with Hainan and explore regular drone logistics between Xuwen and Haikou to improve cross-strait cargo efficiency, Li said.