The 9th Western China International Logistics Industry Expo (the Expo), the premier gathering of leaders and experts within the transportation and logistics industry in China, and also the 16th China International Logistics Week, has started a dialogue to set the city of Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province as an international transportation and logistics hub along China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The one-week event, organized in cooperation with Qingdao Harbor, aims to contribute to building logistics platforms, channels and networks for the city by linking Eurasian countries via new transportation and logistics infrastructure projects.
Participants at the Expo include businesses in logistics and smart transportation, featuring ten sectors such as technology, equipment and platforms, port development, rail construction and smart transportation.
The development of trade, logistics and attendant services plays a key role in promoting Xi'an's sustainable economic and social development within the BRI framework. The event, focusing on global resources and opportunities, has uncovered efficient interconnection between China and international logistics companies, with topics varying from transportation routes optimization to global coordination and shared economic zones.
"We see huge potential for Chinese cities such as Xi'an in logistics and transportation development from infrastructure to service capability. The BRI has offered a unique opportunity for us," said a Western China International Logistics Industry Expo official. "The Expo gathers leading professionals and companies in this area to share their experience working together to take advantage of the benefits that the BRI offers, as well as to promote such benefits to our partners in business and policy."
As the domestic market grows, business opportunities are increasing in segments. After tackling cost structure and multimodal transport issues in recent years, the city is keen to promote BRI-based cooperation in logistics by improving overall operational efficiency and restructuring the logistics system, and by using a practical approach to create a fair and transparent market environment for players to form their supply chains.
The approaches discussed during the Expo also include applying smart logistics technology. Benefitting from national development in the next 10 years, the city's logistics industry can help form a system in China and along the BRI that can achieve optimal resource allocation and service quality, reducing social and transaction costs across logistics channels, hubs and networks using smart technologies including IoT, 5G, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
