Wuhan’s Export-oriented Economy Is Thriving

By Cheng Rongxing, Li Yun & Lv Zuowu

In 2017, Wuhan New Port achieved its annual throughput of 1.2 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) a month ahead of its schedule.Its monthly throughput reached 130,300 TEUs,breaking the monthly record of 130,000 TEUs. All this indicates that Wuhan New Port plays a pivotal role in the upper and middle Yangtze River range.

Wuhan New Port accounts for over 80% of the exported and imported cargoes in Hubei. Container transportation with high additional value has always been listed as the index for Hubei’s exportoriented industrial development. The impressive performances of Wuhan New Port, China (Wuhan)-Europe Railway, and Tianhe Airport demonstrate that Hubei’s export-oriented economy is growing in leaps and bounds.

In 2017 Wuhan New Port Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone started its operation, shorting down the customs clearance time from 3 days to 2 hours which greatly improves the export and import efficiency of goods, widens the business scope of relevant firms, and optimizes the services for shipping and foreign trade firms. As a result,more and more supplies of container goods will be attracted to Wuhan New Port.

After the new terminal of Wuhan Tianhe Airport began operation in September, 2017, the international freight volume has been rising steadily,with an increase of 10% when compared to the same period of the previous year. In October, Tianhe Airport set up its first airport city cargo terminal in Hubei, based on the East Lake Comprehensive Bonded Zone. That way, the international cargoes of companies in Optics Valley could be delivered or received very conveniently. Tianhe Airport is planning to start direct Wuhan-Europe and Wuhan-America cargo flights to offer service to more exportoriented firms.

In 2017, many of the world’s top 500 firms and well-known international enterprises flocked to Wuhan one after another. At the Foreign Investment Promotion Conference in September, 36 senior executives from the world’s top 500 companies signed seven major contracts with Wuhan Government, reaching 3.383 billion dollars.

Currently, Wuhan’s work on foreign investment,foreign trades, foreign outsourcing production,foreign economic cooperation, and foreign affairs is trending toward linked and integrated development.

With the development of the international logistics corridor, Wuhan’s export and import business is bound to grow more rapidly. The links between various cities and provinces in central China and all parts of the world will become more frequent. And Wuhan as an international metropolis will surely attract more foreign investment and businesses with its unique charm and growing reputation worldwide. (Translation: Liu Jie)

2017年 集装箱吞吐量提前一个月完成120万标箱的年度任务，并且月吞吐量13.03万标箱，首次突破单月吞吐量13万标箱的纪录。武汉新港长江中上游枢纽港地位得到进一步巩固。

武汉新港承担湖北省80%以上的外贸进出口货物运输，尤其是高附加值的集装箱运输，一直被视为湖北外向型产业发展景气度的风向标。它与中欧武汉班列、天河机场等国际运输大通道今年以来的强劲表现，说明湖北外向型经济正不断向好，实现跨越式发展。

2017年，武汉新港空港综保区封关运营，使国际贸易通关时间由3天缩短至2小时，提高货物进出口效率，拓宽进出口企业的业务范围，优化对航运、外贸企业的服务流程，将更多集装箱货源吸引到武汉。

2017年9月，武汉天河机场新航站楼启用后，拉动国际货运量持续增长，同比增幅超过10%。10月，天河机场在东湖综保区口岸作业区建立湖北省首个机场城市货站，光谷企业的空港国际货运在家门口就可以收发货。下一步，天河机场还将开通武汉直达到欧洲和美洲的全货运航线，为更多外向型企业提供服务。

2017年，世界500强与全球知名外企纷至沓来。在9月的外资商会专场上，36位世界500强高管集中与武汉签约7个重大项目，签约金额33.83亿美元。

武汉外资、外贸、外经、外包和外事工作正呈现出联动融合发展态势。

随着国际物流通道大开发，武汉外贸进出口业务必将更快速增长。华中各省市与世界各地贸易往来将会更加频繁，武汉的国际形象也将魅力大增，成为外资企业来华投资兴业的热土。