City looks beyond borders to advance BRI
China DailyZhanjiang adopts international perspective to assist trade, development Zhanjiang has been pulling out all the stops to advance the development of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past decade, local officials said. According to statistics of Zhanjiang Customs, the city's combined import and export values pertaining to Belt and Road countries and regions increased from 18.58 billion yuan in 2013 to 32.03 billion yuan in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 7.1 percent. In the first eight months of this year, Zhanjiang generated foreign trade with BRI-involved countries and regions valued at 21.87 billion yuan. In the first eight months of this year, Zhanjiang exported 2.51 billion yuan worth of steel to BRI-involved countries and regions, up 9.6 percent from a year ago; 880 million yuan worth of household appliances, up 6.4 percent; and 410 million yuan worth of furniture and parts, up 46.8 percent, customs statistics indicate. The city also plans to develop more shipping routes to ASEAN and other Belt and Road countries and regions, and is promoting the construction of an airport economic demonstration zone and Zhanjiang airport expressways.