HAIKOU, June 19. /TASS/. The Yangpu Cargo Port, located in Hainan's economic development zone, plans to launch at least two new trade routes. According to the Hainan Daily, their opening is scheduled for the second half of 2020.
Currently, this international port serves 28 trade routes: 16 foreign trade routes and 12 domestic routes connecting Hainan with other regions of China. In particular, in the first half of 2020, six new maritime routes were already launched. Thus, the total number of routes launched during the year, will amount to eight, as in the previous year.
Despite the difficult economic conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the growth rate of cargo turnover at the Yangpu port is increasing. Thus, in January-May, this indicator in the weight measurement increased by 10.28% compared to the same period last year to about 22.26 million tonnes. Exports and imports also grew by about 10%. Over this period, the international cargo turnover of Yangpu port increased by 15.23% year on year, and domestic — by 3.14%.
As of June 14, 327,600 TEU (the equivalent of a standard 20-foot container) have passed through the port of Yangpu since the beginning of 2020. Last year, this indicator grew by 27.13% and reached 708,000 TEU.
Earlier, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Сhinese State Council published the “General Program for the Establishment of a Free Port on Hainan,” according to which the island’s administration intends to create an effective system to fulfill a number of important social and economic goals by 2025, and within 10 years to decisively enhance the innovative mechanisms for the region's development.
In April 2018, President Xi Jinping said that the Chinese authorities intend to actively involve Hainan in globalization and to draw foreign investors to the island province. By 2050, according to the authorities, the island should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, developed tourism, top-notch scientific, technical and financial potential, and modern medicine. The branches of the best universities and offices of the most powerful corporations in the world will be located on the Island of Hainan.