Chongqing: build an international coffee distribution center without producing one bean.

In May this year, the "Belt and Road Initiative" Forum for International Cooperation will be held in Beijing. This is the highest-standard forum activity proposed by "Belt and Road Initiative" in more than three years, and it is also an important home diplomatic activity of our country this year.

Recently, a reporter from the Beijing News took you to visit the key cities on "Belt and Road Initiative" to see what opportunities and changes the "Belt and Road Initiative" initiative has brought to the local economy and people's livelihood since it was put forward more than three years ago.

Chongqing, which does not produce a single coffee bean, is gradually becoming an international distribution center for coffee.

In June last year, Chongqing Coffee Trading Center opened. In less than a year, the center has become the largest electronic coffee trading platform in China.

Why can inland Chongqing pry up the global market? Among the many reasons behind it, perhaps the most important one is to take the express train of "Belt and Road Initiative" construction relying on the international railway intermodal transport corridor (hereinafter referred to as "Yuxin Europe").

In the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative", Chongqing aims to build an international logistics hub. Experts believe that more products will be distributed in Chongqing, making it a distribution center for European goods in Asia, and cross-border trade will promote the prosperity of Chongqing's cross-border finance.

A coffee trading center that doesn't produce a bean.

Chongqing, which does not produce a single coffee bean, is becoming more and more clear on the path to the development of an international coffee distribution center.

On June 15 last year, Chongqing Coffee Trading Center opened. By the end of the first quarter of this year, the spot trading volume of coffee has totaled 5.268 billion yuan, making it the largest electronic coffee trading platform in China.

With such a scale in less than a year after opening, the key word behind the analysis of the reasons for its rapid development is "Yuxin Europe".

The "Chongqing New Europe" railway starts from Chongqing, leaves Xinjiang, passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland, and arrives in Duisburg, Germany. The debut of Chongqing in 2011 opened the prelude to the opening of European trains in China one after another. Today, Chongqing, Singapore and Europe has become an important logistics channel connecting Eurasia.

Huang Qifan, the then mayor of Chongqing, said in an interview in June 2015, "in Chongqing's world-class electronic products base, 40% of its products have to be shipped to Europe, from Chongqing to Guangdong, and then by boat from Guangdong to Europe. It takes about a month and a half or even two months, which takes not only time, but also more than 2000 kilometers of railway to the coast, plus 20, 000 kilometers of sea freight, which is not worth it."

Geographically, Chongqing is located at the junction of "Belt and Road Initiative" and the Yangtze River economic belt. The coffee trading center takes Chongqing as the core, connecting the major coffee producing areas such as Yunnan, Southeast Asia and South Asia with the European market, forming the radiation and agglomeration of the global coffee industry.

Peng de, general manager of Chongqing Coffee Trading Center, said that to the east, Chongqing is the golden waterway of the Yangtze River, and to the west is the "Chongqing New Europe" international channel. The formation of this channel has changed the traditional pattern of international coffee trade.

He said that Chongqing is close to Yunnan, a major coffee producing province, and Southeast Asia, which accounts for 1 to 3 of the world coffee production. With the help of the ASEAN international road logistics channel, Chongqing can connect with Vietnam, the overseas supplier of coffee raw materials. After the raw materials of coffee beans arrive in Chongqing, they can reach the hinterland of Europe, the main consumer market of coffee from "Chongqing New Europe", which is 30 days less than river-sea intermodal transportation and 4% cheaper than air transportation.

Hu Yizhe, agricultural assistant of the Dutch Consulate General in Chongqing, explained to the Beijing News that the terminus of "Chongqing New Europe" is in Duisburg, Germany, which is located on the border between the Netherlands and Germany. Due to the well-developed road and inland river transport in Western Europe, coffee beans and other products are very convenient for transshipment to Europe.

He believes that through the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative" and the "Chongqing New Europe" international channel, Chongqing has linked Southeast Asia with Europe, linked production and consumption together, and become a transit point from Southeast Asia to Europe. The move will help coffee beans from China's Yunnan and Southeast Asia open up the European market.

At present, Chongqing Coffee Trading Center plans to set up an office as a representative office in the Netherlands to carry out preliminary business.

Innovation in the Great Channel of "Yu Xin Europe"

The opening of the "Chongqing-New Europe" route has provided a convenient and safe channel for China's westward opening strategy, and changed the basic pattern of China's opening up to the outside world in the past.

A few years ago, the goods in the containers of Yuxin Europe were just laptops. Data show that Chongqing is the world's largest notebook computer manufacturing base, and one out of every three computers in the world is made in Chongqing.

Yang Liqiong, deputy director of the Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission, recalled that in order to create inland open highlands, Chongqing introduced Hewlett-Packard and other production bases a few years ago. The question that comes with it is, how to get the goods out?

"at that time, the result of our discussions was to open up a major intermodal transport channel to Western Europe." Yang Liqiong said that after reporting the idea to the former Ministry of Railways and the General Administration of Customs, she received understanding and support. Subsequently, Chongqing invited the customs departments of various countries along the "Chongqing New Europe" route to Chongqing many times to hold meetings to explore the feasibility.

However, the problems facing Chongqing include both technical challenges and institutional barriers.

The original intention of opening "Yuxin Europe" is to ship laptops made in Chongqing. However, the whole journey of "Yuxin Europe" is more than 10,000 kilometers, with a temperature difference of up to 70%, which makes electronic products unbearable.

In order to solve this problem, Chongqing organized a number of scientific research institutions to research and develop, and finally protected the goods in the way of incubators, thus solving the problem of "Yuxin Europe" transporting electronic products in winter.

For Chongqing, compared with technical problems, it is more difficult to break through the current system for innovation.

The "Yuxin Europe" international railway intermodal transport corridor has a total length of 11179 kilometers. After leaving China, you have to go through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland, and finally to Duisburg, Germany. According to the previous system, the goods need to be unpacked and inspected every time they arrive at the customs of a country. For transport customers, this will increase the time cost and even increase the damage.

In this regard, Chongqing signed the "Anzhi Trade" agreement, that is, "Chongqing New Europe" realized the mutual recognition of customs supervision along the way: a declaration, an inspection, and a release. The goods will be checked and released after declaration by Chongqing Customs and can be released in the other five countries.

If the goods pass through many countries, how can we get everyone involved? Yang Liqiong said that in order to solve this problem, China has jointly formed a transportation company with railway departments of various countries along the route, so that the goods have shareholders in each country, and the interests of the countries along the route are tied together and the whole line is seamlessly connected.

Zhang Bo, vice president of the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Beijing News that the opening of the "Chongqing New Europe" route has provided a convenient and safe channel for China's westward opening strategy and changed the basic pattern of China's opening up to the outside world in the past. At present, there are more than a dozen Central European trains in various parts of China, which are basically operating in accordance with the model created by "Chongqing New Europe". The experience of "Chongqing New Europe" provides a useful reference for promoting China's westward opening up and the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

At the same time, he pointed out that the core of the construction of China-EU trains, such as "Chongqing New Europe", is not the issue of routes, but the issue of institutional innovation. "Yuxin Europe" has solved the problem of the convenience of customs clearance, changed the situation of separate customs management in various countries along the route, and cleared up the institutional obstacles to railway operation.

Institutional innovation continues to a larger scope

Due to the inland position of Chongqing, which is not along the border and not near the sea, the market capacity is limited, which forces Chongqing to carry out reform, and system innovation is the core driving force in Chongqing's development.

In Chongqing, institutional innovation similar to that in the development of "Chongqing New Europe" continues.

Orchard Port, the largest inland river hub in China, is an important carrier for Chongqing to build a shipping center in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Orchard Port while investigating Chongqing in January 2016, Xinhua reported. Seeing that the port facilities are complete and beginning to take shape, he said, "there is a lot of hope here."

Geographically, the Orchard Port can connect the northwest, Central Asia and Europe through the "Yuxin Europe" international railway transport corridor to the west, and realize river-sea intermodal transport eastward through the Yangtze River. Southward and northward, goods can be gathered and radiated to inland areas through highways and railways.

Huang Ji, deputy general manager of Chongqing Port Logistics Group, said that the declaration of Orchard Port as an open port is under way, and the plan has been submitted to the relevant state ministries and commissions, and a reply is expected in the first half of this year.

According to the plan, one of the bright spots in the development of Orchard Port in the future is to advance the departure point of "Yuxin Europe" to Orchard Port, which means that goods can be transported directly to the Central European train from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the port.

Huang Ji explained that goods currently transported from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River need to be reloaded, and then transported by road to the starting point of the "Yu-Xin-Europe" railway 50 kilometers away, and boxed again. If it is replaced directly in Orchard Port, the logistics cost of each container can be saved by 1000 yuan.

He said that in the next step, Orchard Port needs to improve its regulatory policy and achieve "one customs clearance and full release". At present, the railway has been designed and supporting policies involving customs are being formulated. If completed, this will be the first inland open port.

Huang Ji was deeply impressed by the role of institutional innovation in participating in the construction of Orchard Port.

For a long time, being inland has been the weakness of Chongqing's development, he said. However, after the state positioned Chongqing as the connection point of "Belt and Road Initiative" and the Yangtze River economic belt, the geographical location has changed from a short board to an advantage, and Chongqing has formed the node of the logistics channel.

"in the process of turning a disadvantage into an advantage, Chongqing cannot do without institutional innovation. Both the government and enterprises are exploring how to meet the needs of the market within a certain framework, which also promotes the innovation of the regulatory model.

Zhang Bo, vice president of the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the system and reform complement each other: opening up to the outside world to force reform, and reform to promote opening up. Due to the inland position of Chongqing, which is not along the border and not near the sea, the market capacity is limited, which forces Chongqing to carry out reform, and system innovation is the core driving force in Chongqing's development.

Sound

Belt and Road Initiative, which brings China and Europe closer, is not only a reduction in logistics costs, but also a channel to enhance communication and understanding, and an important channel for cultural exchanges. My plan is to set up a football school in Chongqing, hold football summer camps regularly, and introduce the advanced youth training system into China. The good news is that Italian football is very popular in China. Marcelo Lippi is being successful as head coach of the Chinese national team, and many Italian players have begun to play in the Chinese Super League.

-- Simone Crespi General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer of Chongqing Yist Sports Culture Communication Co., Ltd.

Dialogue

"Belt and Road Initiative assists in industrial transformation and upgrading"

Beijing News: please introduce Chongqing's role and position in the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative" in one sentence?

Yang Changxue (Deputy Director of Chongqing Development and Reform Commission): Chongqing is at the joint point of the two national strategies of "Belt and Road Initiative" and "Yangtze River Economic Belt".

Beijing News: in recent years, the steady economic growth of Chongqing has attracted attention at home and abroad. What influence does the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative" have on the economic development of Chongqing?

Yang Changxue: this has had a great impact on Chongqing's opening up, industrial transformation, upgrading and innovation. For example, through innovation, Chongqing's industrial development is more in line with the needs of the international market, the economic structure is more optimized, and the core competitiveness is enhanced. At present, Chongqing has proposed to develop "ten strategic emerging manufacturing industries" and "ten strategic emerging service industries".

Beijing News: what is the role of the establishment of the Chongqing Free Trade Zone to promote the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative"?

Yang Changxue: the free trade zone should be understood from two aspects: one is to enjoy the facilitation of international trade in trade; the other is to make the existing system and mechanism more adapted to international rules through the exploration of the system of the free trade zone. it is easier to integrate in the development of "Belt and Road Initiative". If there are obstacles to the original system and mechanism, then there may be inadaptability in integrating into the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative". Through institutional innovation in the free trade zone, it will be more in line with the needs of opening to the outside world.

Beijing News: what are Chongqing's advantages in the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative"? What are the challenges?

Yang Changxue: in the process of building "Belt and Road Initiative", Chongqing already has some advantages, such as the international intermodal transport channel of "Chongqing, New Europe", and the institutional exploration and innovation carried out in Chongqing. In the new era, the integration of Chongqing into the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative" will no longer be the traditional model. For example, with the development of information technology, Chongqing's relative disadvantage of "not relying on the sea and not along the border" has been eliminated, and the construction and application of information infrastructure, such as the construction of big data comprehensive experimental area, has created good conditions for Chongqing to integrate into the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative".

However, it should also be noted that Chongqing is located in the interior, the infrastructure construction is relatively weak, and there are also weak links in transportation, so it still cannot fully adapt to the construction of "Belt and Road Initiative", especially in terms of talents and cultivating core competitiveness. In terms of cultivating core competitiveness, Chongqing has made a comprehensive deployment, and making up for its shortcomings will be one of the key tasks in the future.