Original Title: Logistics Industry Welcomes New Transformative Opportunities, Major Logistics Channels to Accelerate Formation

In the current new development pattern of building a domestic cycle as the main body and promoting mutual interaction between domestic and international cycles, accelerating the smooth flow of major logistics channels has become an important focus. Reporters learned that many places have proposed accelerating the construction of international logistics hubs, preparing to create new major logistics channels. At the same time, under the leadership of new infrastructure, the pace of using smart logistics to support the construction of the new development pattern is also accelerating.

Experts said that, revolving around the smooth flow of "dual circulation", new major logistics channels will accelerate formation. With the continuous release of policy dividends, the logistics industry will usher in new transformative opportunities.

Ensuring the Smooth Flow of Goods, Both Domestically and Internationally

At 6 pm local time on August 31, a cargo plane from China carrying nearly 100 tons of goods landed slowly at Liege Airport in Belgium. This was a cargo plane on the Hangzhou-Liege intercontinental route opened by Cainiao Network. In Cainiao's cross-border package network, large cargo planes from China like this land at Liege Airport almost once or twice a day.

Liege Airport is the fifth largest cargo airport in Europe in terms of cargo throughput. Reporters learned that Liege has become the focus of Cainiao's overseas deployment. Cainiao has built an ehub (digital trade hub) here that integrates warehousing, transshipment, and e-customs, connecting China and Europe through intercontinental routes and China-Europe freight trains, and deploying a trucking network covering core European countries centered on Liege.

Ensuring the smooth flow of goods domestically and internationally has become an important support for building a new development pattern with a domestic cycle as the main body and mutual promotion between domestic and international cycles.

Data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows that from January to July, total logistics demand continued to recover, the growth rate of total logistics volume turned positive, logistics operations showed an upward trend, and the total national social logistics volume reached 149.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in July, China's goods trade exports amounted to 1.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.4%, continuing the positive trend of June.

"To form a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and mutual promotion between domestic and international cycles, a smooth modern logistics system is indispensable." Pan Helin, executive dean of the Digital Economy Research Institute of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told reporters that whether it is the domestic cycle or the international and domestic cycles, the cycle itself means that the various links of production, distribution, circulation, and consumption are smoothly connected, among which circulation, as a major link, has important significance, and the most important part of circulation is logistics.

Pan Helin said that China is a major manufacturing country and the world's largest exporter of goods, but the current development of international express logistics and air freight cannot match it. It is urgent to make up for China's shortcomings in transportation capacity and logistics node construction. In terms of improving transportation capacity, it is necessary to increase the number of cargo aircraft and logistics routes, and accelerate the construction of aviation hubs, railway hubs, and air route hubs. While improving domestic infrastructure, we should strengthen overseas network control capabilities and improve the overseas logistics service network.

Major Logistics Channels to Accelerate Formation

Reporters learned from many places that accelerating the creation of new major logistics channels has become a key part of smoothing "dual circulation".

As a large-scale interconnected infrastructure between Shenzhen and Hong Kong under the background of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Liantang/Xiangyuanwei Port officially opened on August 26. Li Huipeng, deputy director of Liantang Customs, said that the completion of the Liantang/Xiangyuanwei Port marks the full implementation of Shenzhen's "Eastward Development and Outward Expansion" development strategy, adding another major logistics channel to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

This is not an isolated case. Currently, many places are accelerating the construction of international logistics hubs, preparing to create new major logistics channels.

According to the Jinan Port Logistics Office in Shandong Province, in order to build a new highland for opening up to the outside world, Jinan is stepping up the construction of an international logistics channel with coordinated development of "land, sea, and air". In terms of aviation, it is building a national-level international aviation hub; in terms of land transportation, it is building a Eurasian train assembly center; in terms of inland ports, it is building a sea-rail intermodal transport channel based on inland port railway stations.

According to the Qingdao Municipal Transportation Bureau in Shandong Province, Qingdao will plan the construction of external gateways and channels, build an open pattern with two-way mutual connection between east and west, and linkage between land and sea, inside and outside, supported by major transportation infrastructure construction, and strive to build an internationally competitive comprehensive transportation hub and international logistics center city. By 2022, the "four ports linkage" of sea, land, air, and rail will make the international logistics channel connecting Japan and South Korea in the east, the SCO and Europe in the west, ASEAN and South Asia in the south, and Mongolia and Russia in the north more smooth, and basically form a modern transportation and logistics operation system that is smooth internally and externally connected, with mutual connection between east and west, coordinated land and sea, and smart and efficient operation.

Yunnan Province recently issued the "Decision on Accelerating the Construction of a Modernized Industrial System", establishing the modern logistics industry as one of the five key trillion-level pillar industries to be developed. It is understood that Yunnan will actively participate in the construction of overseas land and sea international intermodal logistics nodes, and promote the implementation of major "double ten" projects such as national logistics hubs and multi-modal transport logistics networks. It will lay out and expand a cross-regional logistics network facing the economies around the Indian Ocean and connecting the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, forming a new pattern of mutual promotion between domestic and international cycles.

"Major logistics channels actually play two roles. First, they are the basic infrastructure for logistics, reducing the procedures for the flow of goods between countries and regions and reducing transportation costs; second, they provide a standardized logistics platform, promoting the formation of economies of scale in the entire industry and better playing the platform effect." Pan Helin said.

Pang Chaoran, associate researcher at the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with reporters that circulation, as a bridge connecting production and consumption, plays a fundamental, strategic, and leading role in promoting high-quality development of the national economy and promoting efficient gathering and optimization of factors. Against the background of accelerating the construction of a new pattern of dual circulation development, accelerating the construction of major logistics channels will improve economic efficiency and the vitality of the real economy, accelerate the restructuring of industrial layout, promote regional coordinated development, and promote efficient connectivity of domestic and foreign factors.

Logistics Industry Welcomes New Transformative Opportunities

It is worth noting that efforts to support the smooth flow of "dual circulation", with new transportation infrastructure as the leader, and promoting the upgrading of the logistics supply chain system are also accelerating. Relevant departments are accelerating the delineation of the "construction drawings" of new infrastructure in the logistics field.

In June this year, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the "Implementation Opinions on Further Reducing Logistics Costs" jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, proposing to promote the combination of reducing logistics costs and new infrastructure, and accelerate the construction of integrated infrastructure such as the new generation of national traffic control networks, smart highways, smart ports, and smart logistics parks, and promote the application of new and emerging technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.

On August 6, the Ministry of Transport issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of New Infrastructure in the Transportation Sector", which clearly proposes to take digitalization, networking, and intelligence as the main line to promote the improvement of efficiency, expansion of functions, and increase of momentum in transportation.

In the view of Ren Zeping, chief economist of Evergrande Group, the new infrastructure will help expand domestic demand in the short term and increase effective supply and improve the industrial chain in the long term. It will be one of the main drivers of the "dual circulation" strategy.

Pan He Lin pointed out that the new infrastructure in the future must target the modern logistics system that supports the "dual circulation" and high-quality development. Through sensing technology, the Internet of Things, and big data, it will help the logistics system operate more efficiently; by processing user information collected from a large number of terminal devices, it will help the supply chain better operate and make decisions. Pang Chaoran also believes that the key lies in promoting the deep integration of modern information technology and the logistics industry, improving the operational organization efficiency of the logistics industry, and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry and enterprises.

Experts also said that surrounding the smooth flow of the "dual circulation," policy dividends are expected to continue to be released, and the logistics industry will usher in new opportunities for change.

Pang Chaoran pointed out that in the future, China should further enhance the internationalization capabilities of the logistics industry. On the one hand, it should adhere to market orientation, follow the development laws of the modern logistics industry, cultivate market entities in the international logistics industry, create a good business environment for market development, improve the internationalization capabilities of enterprises, and support enterprises in integrating domestic and foreign logistics industry resources through mergers and acquisitions, and giving full play to the advantages of scale economy. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen policy guidance, focus on the systematic planning, spatial layout, resource integration, and development methods that restrict the development of China's supply logistics, strengthen top-level design, issue guiding opinions on improving international logistics capabilities, and create a good policy environment for encouraging the development of the international logistics industry.

Pan He Lin believes that the logistics industry should seize policy opportunities, accelerate digital transformation, and make full use of the infrastructure dividends brought by the new infrastructure to better integrate into the "dual circulation" system.

"The key to promoting the development of the logistics industry and enterprises is to make efforts in supply-side structural reform." Pang Chaoran said that it is necessary to focus on the eight-character principle of "consolidation, enhancement, improvement, and smooth flow," further consolidate the existing foundation for the development of the logistics industry, continuously absorb and apply new technologies, gather high-end talents, and continuously cultivate the internal strength of enterprises to enhance and improve the competitiveness and international influence of enterprises.