Recently, Guangzhou Port Group unveiled the establishment of Zhuzhou Inland Port at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Zhuzhou Inland Port Cooperation and Exchange Conference, and reached deep cooperation with multiple enterprises. Representatives from the Zhuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government, Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, Guangzhou Port Group and other key port and shipping enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as international logistics companies, gathered in Zhuzhou to work together to deepen inland port cooperation, accelerate the connection between the two major economic belts - the Central Economic Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, strive to build a typical example of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and contribute wisdom and strength to the construction of the China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

 

At the conference, the main leaders of the Zhuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government, leaders of the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, and Huang Bo, Chairman of Guangzhou Port Group, jointly unveiled the plaque for Guangzhou Port - Zhuzhou Inland Port, marking the official establishment of the 36th inland port of Guangzhou Port. On the day of the event, Guangzhou Port Group simultaneously unveiled and established its 37th inland port in Liling City. The intensive construction of inland ports this time is an important measure for Guangzhou Port to deeply implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, accelerate the promotion of its strategy in Hunan, and continuously deepen inland port cooperation. Guangzhou Port will fully leverage its advantages as the main hub port in southern China, integrating resources such as ports, shipping and railways. Relying on the "Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” rail-sea transport corridor and the bridging role of inland ports, it will build a core logistics node for the central region to connect with the African market, thus better connecting to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and providing important support to build Zhuzhou into a “China-Africa Economic and Trade Inland Port” and a “China-Africa Economic and Trade Barter Center”.

 

 

Zheng Lingtang, General Manager of Guangzhou Port Co., Ltd., and Xia Chunliang, Chairman of Zhuzhou Urban Construction and Development Group Co., Ltd., signed the Letter of Intent for Cooperation on the Zhuzhou Integrated Logistics Distribution Center Project. According to the Letter of Intent, the two parties will establish a long-term and all-round strategic partnership, jointly invest in and operate the Zhuzhou Integrated Logistics Distribution Center Project, work together to build a southbound international logistics hub in Hunan and central China, and help Zhuzhou better connect with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area and better integrate into the “Belt and Road” international logistics corridor system.

 

Li Mingzhong, Deputy General Manager of Guangzhou Port Co., Ltd., Zhang Jian, Deputy General Manager of Zhuzhou Urban Construction and Development Group Co., Ltd., Xu Shuqun, Chairman of Greenford and other shareholder representatives, as well as Wang Zhentao, Deputy General Manager of the Resource Middle Office of the Supply Chain Logistics Division of ‌COSCO Shipping Container Transport Co., Ltd., signed the strategic cooperation agreement on behalf of Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Logistics Co., Ltd. and COSCO Shipping Container Transport Co., Ltd., marking that COSCO Shipping Container Transport Co., Ltd. has officially become a shareholder of Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Logistics Co., Ltd. The shareholders will fully leverage their unique advantages to achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages. As one of the world’s largest shipping companies, COSCO Shipping Container Transport Co., Ltd. will rely on its strong shipping network, terminal resources and logistics service experience to provide more extensive transport corridors and more efficient logistics service support for Hunan-Guangdong-Africa Logistics Co., Ltd., helping it further enhance its international logistics corridor competitiveness and expand its global market.

 

During the conference, the "Hunan-Guangdong-Africa 2.0” version was officially released to expand and upgrade the construction of the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” corridor. This upgrade focuses on “intelligence, full process, and diversification”, and initiates the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa platform intelligent connectivity system independently developed by Guangzhou Port Group, which injects digital momentum into the global supply chain. It is reported that “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa 2.0” is an upgraded version of the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” corridor service platform, developed by Guangzhou Port Group with “integration of ports and stations, digital empowerment, and service upgrading” as the goal, and “informatization, productization, and standardization” as the focus.

 

At present, the “Hunan-Guangdong Maritime Silk Road” full logistics product developed by Guangzhou Port on the basis of the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” corridor has been launched online. Taking Zhuzhou as the core node, Guangzhou Port is promoting full logistics services to cover the entire area of Hunan, extend and radiate to surrounding provinces and cities, connect key nodes of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and accelerate the formation of a full logistics ecosystem for waterways, railways and sea transport, thus comprehensively reducing the comprehensive logistics costs of the whole society, and installing a new engine for accelerated overseas expansion of “Products Made in Hunan”.

 

In recent years, focusing on building a strategic logistics system of “hub + corridor + network”, Guangzhou Port Group has relied on the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” rail-sea transport logistics corridor and the rich container route network to provide “end-to-end” and “hinterland to hinterland” one-stop logistics services for the economic hinterland of Hunan and surrounding provinces. As an innovative measure of the China-Africa international logistics corridor system, the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” rail-sea transport corridor is an important logistics corridor from central and western regions of China and even the whole country to Africa. It is also a new achievement of China-Africa cooperation in the new era, promoting the China-Africa cooperation into the fast lane.

 

In terms of sea-rail transport, Guangzhou Port Group has partnered with local and international leading logistics enterprises in Hunan to establish a powerful joint operation platform. Through the port resource advantages of the platform partners and their self-operated logistics network distributed in Africa, the corridor services are extended to countries in the hinterland of the African continent, radiating to Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and other regions. Since the launch of the “Hunan-Guangdong-Africa” rail-sea transport corridor on September 15, 2021, premium special trains have been successfully operated for the export of machinery and equipment, the export of ceramics from Liling, Zhuzhou, the export of complete vehicles and auto parts, and the import of Corning Glass from the United States. A total of over 200000 TEUs have been transported, and 2,440 train trips have been completed.

 

In terms of shipping route network, Guangzhou Port Group has strengthened cooperation and resource layout between ports and waterways, and built Nansha Port Area into the hub port of African shipping routes in South China with the most abundant African routes and the widest radiation. At present, Nansha Port has launched 25 African routes, covering important basic ports in East Africa, West Africa, South Africa and North Africa, with 5 direct routes to Cote d'Ivoire. In 2024, there were more than 700,000 TEUs shipped between Guangzhou Port Group and major ports in Africa. (Text by Wu Fan, and Zhuang Zeyu, Photo by the Organizer)