Jiangsu follows in footsteps of a hero

Coastal province draws on history and its unique geographical advantages to rebuild 'Silk Road' ties with international partners

July 11, 2015 was an average day, until it's viewed from a historical perspective.

On that day, a cargo train rolled on the new Eurasian Continental Bridge that links China's Lianyungang, a gateway to the Pacific Ocean, to Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the port's access to the Atlantic Ocean.

On exactly the same date 610 years ago, a fleet of 130 ships commanded by Zheng He set sail from a nearby port in Suzhou, also in Jiangsu, starting a series of historic voyages on the maritime Silk Road that would eventually lead him to ports throughout Asia and Africa.

Six centuries on, the enterprising spirit of the great navigator in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) seems to have been imparted to the people of the eastern province. They have vowed to champion a new wave of Chinese globalization by taking advantage of the country's ambitious plan to revive the ancient land and sea Silk Road.

"Drawing on the province's unique history and solid reality, Jiangsu is determined to play a pioneering and leading role in China's Belt and Road Initiative," Chen Zhenning, a top provincial planner, told a delegation of journalists in mid-November.

Jiangsu is one of the wealthiest provinces in China. It hopes to "expand opening-up space" by availing itself of its stellar position in the Belt and Road Initiative, said Chen, director of the provincial development and reform commission.

The initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by President Xi Jinping during an overseas visit in 2013. It is designed to connect countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, and promote cooperation among them.

Jiangsu, geographically situated at the juncture of the Belt and the Road, answered the challenge with a massive project. In May last year, it joined Kazakhstan to launch an international logistics terminal in Lianyungang, with total investment of $98 million for the first phase of construction.

Lianyungang is the eastern end of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge. The logistics center in the port city would enable products from Central Asia to be more efficiently shipped to the rest of the world.

In February, regular cargo trains began to shuttle weekly between the port and Almaty, the financial and technological hub of Kazakhstan, and within half a year, they had shipped 1.33 million metric tons of cargo.

The terminal is, in fact, the first project implemented in China since the Belt and Road Initiative was conceived, Chen said.

The terminal was followed by construction of the 45-square-km Lianyungang SCO International Logistics Park, which provides logistical and warehouse services for Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries, including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

"Lianyungang is located in the central part of China's coastal area. When goods go east from it, they will reach the international markets; to its south is the most economically dynamic area of China's Yangtze River Delta; to its west is the broad middle and western regions of China," said Miao Han'gen, chairman of the Shenghong Group.

Miao's group, based in Suzhou, has invested in a petrochemical project worth 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) at Lianyungang's demonstration zone for enhancing cooperation between China's eastern, central and western regions.

To work in tandem with the initiative, Jiangsu has worked to make breakthroughs in infrastructure connectivity, trade and industrial cooperation, cultural exchanges and the building of trade zones and industrial parks in countries along the Belt and Road routes, Chen said.

"Intensifying trade and industrial cooperation satisfies the surging demand arising from the accelerating industrialization process of the developing economies along the routes," Chen said. "It also helps optimize the industrial structure of Jiangsu through industrial transfer and by shifting overcapacity."

Jiangsu has encouraged the export of heavy equipment and investment in the countries along the Belt and Road, he said.

In 2014, trade between Jiangsu and the 64 countries along the Belt and Road accounted for 10 percent of China's total investment in these countries, according to the provincial statistics bureau.

The province's contracted investment in the 64 countries totaled $4.8 billion last year. In the first nine months, combined investment pooled from the province to five leading countries alone - Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Pakistan - amounted to $1.58 billion.

To prop up foreign investment, Jiangsu set up a special Belt and Road Fund in July, with initial capital of 3 billion yuan. It is expected to expand 10-fold to 30 billion yuan by 2020, Chen said.

Already, businesses in Jiangsu have expanded their foothold worldwide. Their investment in the Sihanoukville Port Special Economic Zone in Cambodia, the Skyrun industrial zone in Nigeria and the Eastern Industrial Park in Ethiopia has helped more Jiangsu companies "go abroad", Chen said.

zhaohuanxin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/07/2015 page5)