In May 2022, Kunming officially took charge of Mohan. Since then, Mohan has seen inconceivably rapid and vigorous development in terms of investment, construction, city appearance and infrastructure. The once a far-flung border town has seen its development on the fast truck to becoming an international port city.
Liu Hongjian, the Party chief of Kunming, said that the construction of Mohan as an international port city is an important contributor for Kunming to proactively integrate into the national development strategy and for Yunnan to serve as an important gateway for China into South and Southeast Asia.
Since Kunming took over Mohan, entrepreneurs and businessmen from various industries have been flocking to the area. By the end of Nov 2023, the Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone had received a total of 2,821 visitors from 991 high-quality enterprises.
A pioneering and innovative practice
In March 1922, the State Council approved the opening of Mohan Port. In 1933, China and Laos opened the Mohan-Boten International Port. In 2021, the China-Laos Railway opened, with Mohan being the terminal in China.In April, 2022, the Yunnan government made the major decision for Kunming to fully take charge of Mohan town and to develop it into a high-quality international port city. In August, 2022, the trusteeship transfer between Kunming and Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture was successfully completed, making Kunming the only provincial capital city in China with a “border line and border port”.
An elaborate picture of the port landscape
Since the trusteeship, Kunming has meticulously mapped the overall development of Mohan as an international port city.
A “two-step” strategy for Mohan has been established: By 2025, the infrastructure for connectivity between Mohan and Boten will have been completed; By 2035, the flow of people, goods, capital and information within the Mohan-Boten economic cooperation zone will be free and convenient.
A satisfactory answer to the challenges of the times
By the end of 2023, 72 projects had been launched, with an actual investment of 13.61 billion yuan ($1.90 billion).
Since 2023, investment promotion has been held 13 times, with more than 40 enterprises accurately-docked and 13 investment agreements signed, amounting to about 6.7 billion yuan.
From January to September 2023, the total volume of import and export goods at Mohan Port was 6.28 million tons, the value of import and export goods was 36.29 billion yuan, and the number of inbound and outbound people was 1.06 million.
From January to September 2023, the total volume of border trade at Mohan Port exceeded 1 million tons, and the transaction value exceeded 3.8 billion yuan.
A humanistic city pleasant to work and live in
The districts of Kunming have paired with the six villages in Mohan to facilitate their development. Thanks to these efforts, the six villages now have cement roads, over 88 percent of rural residents have access to tap water, and the full coverage of 5G network has been achieved ahead of schedule.
A total of 102 projects aimed at addressing inadequacies and improving the lives of the people have been completed, benefiting 20,000 individuals in Mohan.
