Transport routes open up massive opportunities for cross-Straits ties

Jinjing Port in Pingtan has been bustling with cargo shipments to Taiwan nearly every day since November, as a result of the massive consumer spending during China's Singles Day shopping festival.

The shipments are an example of the burgeoning trade between the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone and Taiwan due to an expanded transport network.

As the area of the Chinese mainland closest to China's Taiwan, the zone has spared no effort in upping cross-Straits cargo transport connections in recent years.

In 2019, Jinjing Port opened and was approved as a national-level port.

Despite the effects of the outbreak of COVID-19 this year, the local authority has built a logistics route between Pingtan and Taiwan by air, land and sea.

That route has helped transport of pandemic prevention materials to nearly 20 provinces and cities, from more than 10 countries and regions, local officials said.

WTO Logistics, a subsidiary of Taiwan Wagon Group, operates in areas including logistics, shipment, express delivery and overseas warehousing, plays a role in connecting Pingtan and Taiwan via transportation.

"Since September this year, our warehouse has been overstocked," said Chen Xiangquan, general manager of WTO Logistics.

However, the company optimized its transportation model and achieved gains in its logistics service during the recent shopping festival, Chen said.

During the first half of 2020, the company said it had transported 18,000 containers, with a cargo value of 6.1 billion yuan ($928 million).

"In the same period, our freight volume increased by about 20 percent year-on-year," Chen said.

This year, the zone introduced tariff-guarantee insurance for its cross-border e-commerce, as part of the effort to reduce the cost of customs clearance for enterprises.

As customs clearance improves, the zone's unique location and the faster transport routes have brought benefits to all parties, Chen said.

Since 2017, Pingtan has used innovation and tackled problems in the development of transportation routes, boasting advantages in location and preferential policies, said Zhang Shufu, deputy head at the commercial and logistics department at the economic development bureau in the zone.

Last year, the zone opened cargo routes to the northern, central and southern parts of Taiwan.

Another beneficiary of the improved transportation is Li Zidian, chairman of Zhong-Tan International Corp, which engages in the trade of food products with Taiwan.

With the full coverage of routes to Taiwan, Li said he can expand the business from trading food and daily necessities to agricultural and fishery products.

"Thanks to the increase of routes and the improved customs clearance efficiency, our operating performance has doubled year-on-year despite the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak," Li said.

In addition, the zone has explored new routes for trade in agricultural and fishery products.

In 2019, the zone launched a Pingtan-Taiwan agricultural and fishery products trading platform, establishing a new channel for importing these products from Taiwan.

In July, the platform introduced the first bank in China to provide renminbi service for cross-border e-commerce, allowing payments in RMB cash.

From January to July, the volume of Taiwan's agricultural and fishery products imported and exported via Pingtan Port was worth about 480 million yuan. Of that, imported fruit was worth 190 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 261 percent, official data showed.

Zhang said: "Next, we will continue to launch and improve the air and sea transportation to promote trade between Pingtan and Taiwan and even global trade.

"To create new international trade channels and expand services, we will build better trade conditions for enterprises."