BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, is expected to fully complete the reform of the pilot free trade zone in the next three years, with the total volume of foreign trade exceeding 350 billion yuan, 20 new international freight routes being opened and 1,800 China-Europe freight train (Changsha) trips being made per year, building an opening-up highland in inland areas of China, reported Chinanews.com on Saturday.
According to the three-year action plan (2021-2023) recently released by Changsha, the city will implement seven major actions including the construction of the Changsha Area of the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
By 2023, Changsha Area will fully complete the reform of the pilot free trade zone and achieve an average annual growth of more than 20 percent in import and export volume, with more than 10,000 new enterprises and 50 financial institutions established in the area.
In addition, Changsha will deepen economic and trade cooperation with Africa, establish a China-Africa economic and trade big data service platform system, and host the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo. By 2023, the volume of imports and exports between Changsha and Africa is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan.
Last year, Changsha achieved a total import and export volume of 235.05 billion yuan despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, with a year-on-year increase of 17.4 percent. By 2023, Changsha's total foreign trade volume is expected to exceed 350 billion yuan, making it one of the top five capital cities in the central and western regions of China, with an average annual growth of more than 15 percent.
In the next three years, Changsha will also build itself into a national comprehensive transportation hub. By 2023, Changsha will open 20 new international freight routes with the cargo throughput reaching 400,000 tonnes, build a China-Europe freight train assembly center with number of train trips increasing by more than 50 percent annually to 1,800 trips and realize the cargo throughput of Changsha port exceeding 20 million tonnes.
(Edited by Gao Jingyan with Xinhua Silk Road, gaojingyan@xinhua.org)
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