BUILDING A BRAND

By Ma Miaomiao

Xiamen has a long trading history. Since the Song Dynasty （960-1279）， the ancient Tea Horse trade route had run through it and other cities in Fujian Province， southeast China. Caravans carried tea， seafood and other goods to sell them to distant places.

The port city was also a trade hub on the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Currently， it has become an important platform for Belt and Road cooperation and international exchanges.

Getting things started

In 1998， U.S. computer maker Dell chose Xiamen to establish its first factory in China. Later， BAX Global， a U.S.-based international shipping company， came to Xiamen as Dells partner， providing delivery and vendor-managed inventory services.

Zhang Xiaobin， then an employee of BAX， recalled that when BAX got registered in Xiamen in 1999， the concept of logistics was unknown in China. BAX had to use“warehousing” instead of “logistics” in its name.

It was Dells arrival in Xiamen that introduced a series of unheard-of terms in China， such as zero inventory， modern logistics and electronic customs clearance， Wang Rong， former Vice Mayor of Xiamen， said in an interview in 2008.

Zhang is now director of DB Schenkers Xiamen branch. It is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that bought BAX in 2006. His company， a long-term partner of Dell and its suppliers， has enjoyed steady growth along with the booming logistics industry in Xiamen.

Modern logistics today is a 100-billionyuan （$14.9-billion） industry in Xiamen， according to the local government. The city has been recognized as one of the national logistics hubs by the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Transport.

It has become the most important stop for seamless connection between the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road， the two components of the Belt and Road Initiative， due to its unique location， Huang Qiang， Executive Vice Mayor of Xiamen， has said on many occasions.

New connectivity

On August 16， 2015， Xiamen flagged off its first China-Europe freight train for Lodz in Poland， marking a new chapter in the citys connectivity. Through the new transport route， it is now connected with Central and Southeast Asia and Europe.

The China-Europe rail service today plays a pivotal role in land transport among different countries on different continents， indicated by the rising number of trains， new routes and the volume of goods， according to Lai Jinqian， Manager of the Business Department of Xiamen International Railway Service， which operates the China-Europe freight trains.

By August 31， after five years of operation， his company had run 816 trains with about 62，500 20-foot equivalent units（TEUs） of containers， carrying goods worth 16.85 billion yuan （$2.48 billion） to Europe and Central Asia， Lai told Beijing Review.

In the early stages of the pandemic， as shipping and flights were suspended， the China-Europe freight trains were put to optimal use， he said.

The company also operates sea-rail intermodal transportation. According to Lai， the trains from Xiamen go to more than 30 cities in 12 countries. Goods from Japan and countries in Southeast Asia are transported by sea and rail to Xiamen， and then delivered to Europe. It cuts transportation time from 30-40 days to 20 days.

The service has also benefited exporters in Taiwan. Since April 2016， products from Taiwan arrive at the Xiamen Port by sea and are then loaded onto freight trains and forwarded to Europe.

On October 27， 2019， a train from Novosibirsk， Russia， arrived in Xiamen， where its containers were shipped to the Port of Ho Chi Minh City， Viet Nam， marking the start of a two-way transport logistics channel in Xiamen.

Though the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19） pandemic disrupted international transport in 2020， Zhang said thanks to the sea-rail intermodal transportation system in Xiamen， his company was able to maintain stable operation.

Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal（XOCT）， a subsidiary of China COSCO Shipping Corp.， has started constructing a railway section that will link the terminals of the company with the existing railway network to integrate different ways of transportation for greater efficiency and future expansion.

A global brand

In December 2018， three organizations came together to launch an international shipping logistics service brand. The brand， Silk Road Maritime， covers 62 shipping routes going to major ports in Asia， Africa and Europe. The three enterprises behind it are Fujian Provincial Communication Transportation， Xiamen Port Holding and China COSCO.

The brand， the first Chinese international shipping logistics service platform， also works to increase shipping routes and facilitate sea-to-sea and sea-to-land cargo transportation through collaboration with ports， railways and shipping companies both at home and overseas.

By the end of August， the brand had operated more than 3，400 voyages transporting more than 3 million TEUs.

Early during the epidemic， the brands members launched measures to ensure safety and smooth operation of its industrial and supply chains. XOCTs automated terminal， for example， runs with zero contact， coordinated by a central control room.

“We have used electronic bills of lading， and container transportation rather than bulk cargo to ensure contactless ordering and delivery during the epidemic，” Lin Jianxi， General Manager of the Information Department of XOCT， told Beijing Review.

The Silk Road Maritime has been followed by other platforms to strengthen exchanges and collaboration in trade and investment. At the Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum held in Xiamen in September， Zhao Long， Vice Governor of Fujian， said the Silk Road Maritime Alliance， an outreach project of the brand， has attracted 183 global partners so far. They include companies from diverse sectors， from shipping and logistics to trade and manufacturing as well as research institutions and industrial associations.

The Port of Gdansk， Poland， is one of the new members. It is the largest deepwater container terminal in the Baltic Sea area and the last stop on the China-Europe sea route. Poland is also an important European gateway for Belt and Road cooperation. Eighty percent of the goods shipped by the China-Europe freight trains enter Europe through Poland.

Mateusz Dawidowski， Port of Gdansk Authoritys chief representative in China， told Xinhua News Agency， “We are more than happy to be part of the alliance， and we hope to increase our role in it. Our companies import a lot from China and export a lot to China. So the Silk Road Maritime will accelerate our recovery[from COVID-19].”