Strategic gateway

The largest port in Northeast China, Dalian serves as a trade gateway to the Pacific. It has been actively integrating itself into the development of the BRI, and helped optimize the route layout.

Currently, Dalian Port operates 106 container ship routes, including 93 foreign trade routes, covering more than 300 ports in over 160 countries and regions worldwide, its own data shows.

In the first half of this year, Dalian Port launched four new foreign trade routes. The new routes directly connect Dalian with important ports in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Egypt, providing efficient logistics solutions for enterprises in Northeast China.

"They mainly export and import goods such as chemicals, minerals, mechanical and electrical equipment, automobiles and accessories, as well as agricultural products and food," said Zhou Jinlu, deputy manager of the marketing department of Dalian Container Terminal Co, of the Liaoning Port Group.

In particular, exports of high value-added products such as complete vehicles, spare parts, and mechanical equipment from Dalian to India have continued to grow. In the first six months of the year, the total export and import volume of goods between Dalian and South Asia jumped nearly 80 percent year-on-year, according to Dalian Port.

Trade with Russia remains stable, with growth in the number of temporary voyages from Dalian to cities such as St Petersburg. From January to June, the total export and import volume of goods between Dalian and Russia grew by nearly 50 percent year-on-year, Dalian Port said.

In the first five months of this year, Dalian's import and export trade achieved a trade surplus for the first time in nearly a decade. The total import and export value reached 191.98 billion yuan, up 5 percent year-on-year. The export value amounted to 97.54 billion yuan, and the import value came in at 94.44 billion yuan, according to Dalian Customs.

Mechanical and electrical products, as well as petrochemical products, have also been driving strong export growth.

Over the same period, the export of ships built in Dalian reached 9.83 billion yuan, jumping 58.7 percent year-on-year, and accounting for 10.1 percent of Dalian's total export value of foreign trade.

The growth in exports to member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as well as the economies involved in the BRI is reflected in the significant growth of exports to Malaysia, especially the export of crude oil, Dalian Customs said. In the first five months, Dalian maintained a strong growth momentum in its import and export trade with Malaysia, reaching 21.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.5 percent, according to customs.

The RCEP, which came into effect in 2022, is the world's largest free trade deal, encompassing the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.