DHL Global Forwarding has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on building a China – Europe logistics corridor with Chengdu Gateway Logistics Office, the Chinese government agency responsible for developing Chengdu into a major trade hub under China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.
The MOU will see DHL Global Forwarding collaborate with Chengdu’s administration to further improve the security, customs efficiency, and freight capacity of the city’s logistics infrastructure.
Chengdu is positioned along several “Belt and Road” routes including the Bangladesh – China – India – Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. With the MOU, DHL will also gain greater access to Chengdu’s export trade lanes, allowing it to provide services to exporters in the city’s free trade zones like the High Tech Zone and Tianfu New Area. DHL expects its services in electronics and automotive logistics to receive particular focus from Chengdu’s industrial clusters.
“As one of the best-performing cities in China when it comes to economic growth, industrial strength, and overseas investment, Chengdu has immense potential to add value to the former South Silk Road’s revival,” said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding China. “In the next few months, we will also be working on bringing rail service from Chengdu to Turkey, furthering our rail development in the city since we first opened our West Corridor rail solution from Chengdu to Lodz three years ago.”
With a railroad container transportation hub located in Chengdu, the city’s freight connections to Europe have already been somewhat developed ahead of the “Belt and Road” initiative. Projects already completed include the construction of high-speed rail links like the Chengdu-Europe Express Rail between the city and Lodz, Poland, in 2013; and the Chengdu-Central Asia Express Rail in 2014.
Source: DHL
