China's largest inland port aspires to be trade hub

MANZHOULI, Inner Mongolia - Manzhouli, China's largest inland port, located in northern Inner Mongolia, aspires to become a regional trade, processing and manufacturing center for Northeast Asia, said a local top official.

The port will be built into a regional center for international trade, tourism, processing and production for imports and exports, energy development and logistics, said Wang Wei, secretary of the Manzhouli municipal committee of the Communist Party of China, on Monday.

In August, the State Council, China's Cabinet, officially approved the construction plan to make Manzhouli a key experimental area for development and opening up. It also passed similar plans for two other cities -- Dongxing in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Ruili in southwestern Yunnan province.

"Our current work focuses on seeking supporting policies, planning programs and attracting investment," said Wang.

The city of Manzhouli, located in the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia, borders Russia to the north and sits close to Mongolia to the west. More than 60 percent of trade between China and Russia passes through Manzhouli.

The border city is also a bridge linking Japan and the Republic of Korea to Eastern Europe.

The city is building a free trade zone with an area of six square kilometers, according to the official. Six projects are currently under construction in the zone.

The city launched the construction of 120 projects in April, including an international timber trade center. Total investment in the projects has hit 65.8 billion yuan ($10.5 billion).

A large shopping mall is under construction at an investment of 1.5 billion yuan.

"We built the mall eyeing the construction of the experimental development area," said Hu Rong, general manager of Manzhouli Wanda Plaza Co Ltd. Hu said the mall will be an international entertainment and tax-free shopping center.

In the first three quarters of this year, cargo transported via the port reached 21 million tons, up 9.7 percent year-on-year, according to port authorities.

Cargo transported via the port is expected to exceed 28 million tons this year, compared with 26.6 million tons last year.

Manzhouli is a key stop on an international railway route that originates in the east China city of Suzhou and passes through Russia and Belarus before terminating in Poland.

The route, which was launched on Thursday to transport China's cargo exports from its booming eastern regions to Europe, will launch import services for China in the future.

Currently, up to 20 cargo-loaded trains from Russia pass through Manzhouli each day.

"The railway route to Europe via Manzhouli can take half the time of maritime transport. The costs are much lower than air transport. Therefore, it is a most reasonable route," said Xuan Zhihong, a publicity official of Manzhouli Port.