New year brings buzz to Shandong's foreign trade

On the first day of 2025, Shandong province gave a significant push to the development of foreign trade by initiating a China-Europe freight train, international flights and a cargo shipment destined for overseas markets.

The China-Europe freight train, loaded with 15 million yuan ($2.06 million) worth of goods such as coiled steel, machinery equipment and tires, commenced its journey from Jinan, capital of Shandong, on Wednesday.

"The train is expected to arrive in Almaty, Kazakhstan in seven days," said Zhang Yangjin, deputy general manager of Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co Ltd.

The group, overseeing the coordination of the Shandong China-Europe freight train service, has been actively integrating the service with cross-border e-commerce and trade logistics networks to enhance the efficiency of freight train operations, he said.

The China-Europe freight train service, a calling card of the Belt and Road Initiative, has played a pivotal role in boosting global trade dynamics and fostering stronger connections between China as well as Asian and European nations.

Last year, a total of 2,727 China-Europe freight trains departed from Shandong, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent, said China Railway Jinan Group Co Ltd.

On the same day, an international flight carrying 9.4 metric tons of goods, including electronic products and cross-border e-commerce parcels, took off from Yantai and landed in Osaka, Japan.

"The goods include those not only produced in Shandong, but also from neighboring provinces," said Song Wei, deputy general manager of the airport logistics unit, Shandong Airport Management Group Yantai International Airport Co Ltd.

Yantai, a major logistics gateway to Japan and South Korea, handled a total of 22,000 tons of cross-border e-commerce parcels at its airport last year, a year-on-year increase of 109.5 percent.

"Through frequent cargo flights to South Korea from Yantai, South Korean consumers can receive their goods in as quickly as 37 hours," said Song.

Meanwhile, a containership departed from Qingdao port, carrying electronic products and new energy vehicles to destinations including Turkiye, Greece, Italy and France.

This year, Shandong plans to introduce a series of policy measures to facilitate international trade between local enterprises and overseas markets, said Wang Hong, deputy head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce.

"We aim to focus on key industries, high technology and green products, supporting companies in participating in more than 360 overseas exhibitions and enhancing the international marketing public service system to drive coordinated trade and investment," said Wang.

In the first 11 months of 2024, Shandong's total import and export value reached 3.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent. Exports accounted for 1.87 trillion yuan, a growth of 6.9 percent.

Notably, high-end manufacturing products such as ships, electronic components and machinery equipment demonstrated export growth exceeding 40 percent. The export value of electric vehicles, photovoltaic products and lithium batteries also surged by 11.1 percent, emerging as key highlights in Shandong's foreign trade landscape, according to data from the department.

In the first three quarters of 2024, the number of enterprises with actual imports and exports reached 67,800, an increase of over 4,700 compared to the same period of the previous year.