Xining, the largest city on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has made international freight services regular thanks to its efforts to promote the construction of global logistics channels in 2020, said Xie Sunan, head of the municipal commercial bureau of the city.

(Photo/Dong Jie)

Xining, also capital of northwest China's Qinghai province, sees the most intensive human activities on a plateau in the world. As an ecological screen on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it is the only city in the region with a population of over 1 million.

Actively fostering the new development paradigm with the domestic market as the mainstay, while the domestic and international markets complement each other, the provincial capital strove to widen its logistics channels last year, optimizing the routes of the Xining Caojiapu International Airport in order to build a Silk Road in the air and make international freight trains regular.

The city launched two freight trains to Russia last year, which cross Mongolia and Kazakhstan, Xie said. The freight services have opened central and western channels for international trade of farm produce, playing an active role in stabilizing the city's foreign trade and investment, as well as building the new development paradigm, he added.

According to statistics, Xining enhanced economic and trade cooperation with Belt and Road countries last year, with trade partners now coming from 78 countries and regions, and established 15 sales centers and warehouses for local specialties in Central Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as 13 comprehensive exhibition centers for imported commodities.

The city will continue enhancing its efforts to promote foreign trade and investment this year, improve its comprehensive competitiveness in the field, and consolidate its industrial foundation that serves the new development paradigm, promoting high-quality opening up and development, Xie remarked.