On October 17, during an interview with reporter Long Min, we explored the success of a pair of sports shoes made in Fujian that were sent to the Philippines through the “Belt and Road Sea Freight” service. These shoes were listed for sale on local cross-border e-commerce platforms in just about a week. From January to August of this year, Fujian’s sports shoe exports reached 23.2 billion yuan (approximately $3.2 billion), making their mark in 147 countries and regions worldwide.
The “Belt and Road Sea Freight” service, which was launched in Xiamen at the end of 2018, has quickly established itself as a well-known brand in the shipping industry. With a total of 122 routes connecting 46 countries and regions to 135 ports, the service has handled over 18 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers. Li Nan, General Manager of Fujian Belt and Road Sea Freight Co., explained that the traditional port and shipping industry often focused on the needs of ports and shipping companies, with little attention paid to the perspective of traders. In contrast, “Belt and Road Sea Freight” aims to enhance trade cooperation by improving shipping services and promoting exchanges among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Professor Dai Yongwu, Executive Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, shared insights on Fujian’s dynamic economy, which has been gaining momentum with new growth drivers. He stated, “In the past decade of building a new Fujian, we’ve leveraged our unique strengths and reform initiatives to transform the ‘multiple zones overlay’ policy advantage into a development edge, striving to create a new high ground for reform and opening up.”
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Fujian’s Free Trade Zone approval. Since then, the zone has launched 20 batches of 622 innovative measures, including 275 that are pioneering in the nation and 120 specifically aimed at Taiwan. In total, there have been 131,000 newly registered enterprises with a registered capital of 2.85 trillion yuan, representing 8.5 times and 12.8 times the numbers before its establishment, respectively.
At a workshop of Xiamen Fengyuan Robotics Co., an enterprise in the Xiamen Free Trade Zone, workers were busy installing tools and assembling battery trays. Wang Zhiyou, co-founder of Xiamen Fengyuan Group, mentioned that they have already partnered with 80 clients in the new energy vehicle sector, covering 70% of the industry’s brands. Moving forward, they plan to strengthen their focus on digital transformation, automation, and talent development, aiming for deeper collaboration with new energy vehicle manufacturers to optimize the full supply chain, while also expanding into international markets, particularly in Belt and Road countries.
In 2023, Fujian’s trade with BRICS nations totaled 279.7 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. On October 14, the Brazilian state of Piauí opened its representative office in Xiamen. The governor of Piauí, Rafael Tenorio Fonteles, emphasized the importance of China as Brazil’s largest trading partner and expressed hope that the representative office would facilitate economic, cultural, technological, and educational exchanges between Piauí and Xiamen, aiming to make Piauí a stepping stone for Chinese enterprises entering the Brazilian market.
At the beginning of last year, the China-Indonesia “Belt and Road Dual Parks” project was approved to create a supply chain and economic linkage, driving Fujian’s open economy. In January, Fujian Kuncai Material Technology Co., Ltd. received the AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) certification from Fuzhou Customs, becoming the first company in the China-Indonesia dual parks initiative to achieve this status. The AEO certification provides benefits such as expedited customs clearance and lower inspection rates, enhancing the company’s international competitiveness.
In February of this year, construction began on the main project of the China-Saudi Gule Ethylene project in Zhangzhou, marking Fujian’s largest single foreign investment collaboration to date, at around 44.8 billion yuan. Li Guoqing, project director at Fujian Zhongsha Petrochemical Co., noted that this project would inject new momentum into capacity cooperation between the two countries. Additionally, it will create significant investment opportunities in upstream and downstream industrial chains and services, pushing Fujian’s petrochemical sector toward a more complete industrial chain and cluster.
Overall, Professor Dai Yongwu believes that the advancement of high-level openness will help Fujian enhance its role as an important channel and connecting point for dual circulation, driving the province’s high-quality economic development forward.
