Media coverage of Beibu Gulf Port | Front page of "Guangxi Daily": River and sea cooperation connects the world

(The source: Beibu Gulf Port Group)

Editor’s Note:

On March 28, Guangxi Daily ran an article on its front page titled “River-Sea Connectivity Links to Connect the World.” The article reports that Beibu Gulf Port is currently accelerating a leap in capacity and capability. Recently, two 200,000-ton bulk cargo berths were approved, and key projects such as the 300,000-ton waterway in Fangchenggang are being pushed forward at a faster pace. At present, the port’s comprehensive throughput capacity has reached 142 million tons, with more than 100 container routes. After the implementation of the “Gulf-Port Connectivity” model, logistics costs have been reduced by 10%—25%. In January and February this year, along the Western Land-Sea New Corridor, the container volume of the rail-sea intermodal freight trains grew year over year by 23.8%, and Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port is accelerating its transition from a “single-port” model to a “dual-circulation hub.”

The original text is as follows:

Striving for the “15th Five-Year Plan Period (2026–2030)” and Hard Work to Write a New Chapter

Upgrade and retrofit Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port and the Yangpu regional international container hub port.

Build the navigable channel along the Xijiang River trunk line and optimize/improve the high-grade waterway network linking the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

——Selected from Chapter Two, Chapter Seven, Section One, Column 4 of the “Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China,” on “the Construction of a National Integrated Three-Dimensional Transportation Network”

In March, when you step into major operating areas of Beibu Gulf Port, with towering quay cranes, massive vessels docked in place, and cargoes flowing smoothly, vibrant momentum for production operations and capacity/capability leaps can be felt everywhere. In the Beihai port area, at the Shaiwei operating area of the Tieshan Port area, berth nos. 4 and 5—two 200,000-ton bulk cargo berths—were recently successfully approved for port-side shoreline; after completion, annual throughput will exceed 19 million tons. Key projects such as the 300,000-ton waterway in Fangchenggang and the 200,000-ton waterway in Tieshan Port in Beihai are accelerating……

A port is not only a front-line position for opening up to the outside world, but also a strong, hard-core support for inland cargo in western China to go out to sea. As an important export gateway of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor, Beibu Gulf Port is using port capacity expansion to break through bottlenecks, increasing route density and expanding the network, upgrading waterways to a higher tier, and innovating intermodal transport models, in order to achieve a capacity leap in a step-by-step, cross-the-board way. In the new development pattern where domestic and international “dual circulation” mutually reinforce each other, it shoulders the heavy responsibility of serving as a strategic hub.

During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Beibu Gulf Port Group built major projects such as the 300,000-ton oil terminal in Qinzhou and the 200,000-ton automated container terminal, adding 20 berths. There are 91 existing and managed productive coastal berths, and the port’s comprehensive throughput capacity is 142 million tons. Beibu Gulf Port’s container routes have exceeded 100. Domestic trade routes connect directly to major coastal ports across the country, as well as key inland ports in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. Foreign trade routes connect directly to regions including Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America, and link the world via hubs such as Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Upgrading the “golden waterway” of the Xijiang River injects strong momentum into a new mode of “river-rail-sea intermodal transport,” allowing the integrated effects of “river and sea connectivity” to keep being released. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, three ship locks—the Guigang Line 2, Xijin Line 2, and Honghua Line 2—were completed and put into operation, enabling 3,000-ton vessels to travel directly from Nanning to the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. During the 9-day Spring Festival holiday, the ship lock operations at the Longzhou Water Conservancy Hub never stopped. In total, 24.022 million tons of cargo passed through. The first peak in lock passage after the holiday arrived as scheduled, yet no vessels were held up; the efficiency of passage along the Xijiang River shipping trunk line is continually improving.

The improvement of logistics corridors further promotes continuous innovation in institutional and mechanism design. On March 18, the “Gulf-Port Connectivity” multimodal transport model in Guigang was put into practice, realizing double breakthroughs in both logistics corridors and institutional mechanisms. Enterprises could complete the entire clearance process in one stop and one session locally. “Previously, for our foreign trade, we had to go through clearance in Hong Kong and Guangzhou; logistics costs were high, and it was inconvenient to handle containers. Now, with ‘Gulf-Port Connectivity,’ we achieve ‘one declaration, seamless coverage with a single order,’ reducing logistics costs by 10%—25% and saving 2 days of clearance time!” said the person in charge of a foreign trade company in Guigang.

At the operating area of Qinzhou Port, Beibu Gulf Port’s IGV is slowly starting up while carrying a container filled with Dongfeng Liuzhou Automobile’s KD parts. The automatic port equipment works in coordination to complete the lifting and loading onto the vessel. According to Lin Changbo, General Manager of Dongfeng Liuzhou Automobile, the company is further strengthening deep cooperation with Beibu Gulf Port Group in areas such as green smart ports, customized vehicle development, and the export of finished vehicles and KD parts—so that “Guangxi-made vehicles depart from Guangxi ports to go out to sea” can run more smoothly, faster, and with lower cost.

Li Tailin, Chairman of Guangxi Beigang Logistics Co., Ltd., said the company is anchored on the core goal of cargo sourcing organization and logistics services. It strengthens policy coordination with railways and platform companies along the route, and jointly conducts marketing. It deeply implements service models such as the “single-order system” and “one-stop service,” enhancing the operating efficiency of trains and the customer experience. The barriers that connect the entire process—from inland factories in places like Chongqing and Chengdu to coastal ports and then to overseas markets—will be further opened up, eliminating the cumbersome procedures of traditional segmented transport.

High-efficiency and convenient logistics services make Beibu Gulf Port an optimal choice for cargo in the southwestern region to go out to sea. In January and February this year, 1,556 rail-sea intermodal freight train services along the Western Land-Sea New Corridor were operated. Container shipment volume increased year over year by 23.8%. In Beihai Port, January’s foreign trade container throughput surged year over year by 62.89%. Freight sources from key southwestern cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing continue to concentrate toward Beibu Gulf Port. “If you choose to go out to sea via the Western Land-Sea New Corridor through Beibu Gulf, compared with the traditional route along the Yangtze River to go out to sea, the journey is shortened by 4—10 days. Transportation timeliness improves by 10%—15%, and overall logistics costs drop by more than 8%.” said Dong Zhiyi, Deputy General Manager of Qinzhou Beigang Supply Chain Co., Ltd., as she calculated a concrete set of “benefit numbers.”

“From ‘inland hinterland’ to ‘seeking strength toward the sea,’ from ‘a single port’ to ‘hub economics,’ from ‘regional end-points’ to ‘dual-circulation hubs,’ every step in Beibu Gulf Port’s leap is a vivid practice of national strategy.” When discussing port development, Li Xiaocheng, Deputy General Manager of Beibu Gulf Port Co., Ltd., said with full confidence. This leap is not only an improvement in port infrastructure, but also a reshaping of Guangxi’s open development landscape and a breakthrough in coordinated development across the western region.

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