HMM Algeciras, the largest container vessel in the world, starts its maiden voyage on April 26, 2020, from the port of Qingdao in Shandong Province.
Guarantee the Smooth Flow of Global Supply Chain
The unexpected onslaught of COVID-19 severely crippled the global logistics industry. Certain places were subjected to airport and port closures, blocking the normal circulation of goods. China’s land, sea, and air transportation lines, at this critical moment, made concerted efforts to ensure the smooth operation of supply chains.
In late April, the world’s largest container ship, HMM Algeciras made its maiden voyage from Qingdao Port, Shandong Province, upgrading the transport capacity of the European route from this port. During the first quarter of 2020, when COVID-19 in China was at its peak, Qingdao Port accomplished commendable growth by taking multiple measures, including reducing port charges, opening up a green channel for epidemic prevention and control materials, and promoting online services.
The cargo throughput topped 140 million tons during the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent; and the container throughput was 5.04 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 2.1 percent year-on-year. The total number of routes which the port operates has exceeded 170 after domestic and international container routes were opened to North America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
On April 14, China Railway Express from Wuhan arrived in Duisburg, Germany, loaded with more than 160 tons of epidemic prevention materials urgently needed in Europe. The train also delivered materials for the resumption of operation at factories such as auto parts, electronic products, and optical fiber. China Railway Express, functioning as the “artery” of international freight transportation, played a key role in abating the blow of the pandemic on the global industrial chain and promoting the cross-border flow of goods and services. China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. strengthened train operations and realized growth in train services. From January to April this year, China Railway Express operated 2,920 train trips and delivered 262,000 TEUs of goods, an increase of 24 percent and 27 percent respectively year-on-year.
Amid the pandemic, how to ensure the development of the air logistics industry and the stability of international air cargo supply chains has been a major challenge. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has cut the cost of international air freight and subsidized freight flights and charter flights undertaking major special transport tasks. It has also simplified the approval procedures for freight flights, and launched 24-hour online approval services for freight flights of Chinese and foreign airlines. In the meantime, some airlines converted passenger planes into cargo planes to improve international freight capacity. In April, Chinese and foreign airlines carried out 1,574 regular cargo flights every week, an increase of 55.2 percent compared with that before the epidemic outbreak. In March and April, 1,794 and 2,225 cargo charter flights were approved respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 401.1 percent and 476.4 percent.
On the morning of June 4, 2020, the first train carrying anti-epidemic materials to Paris, France, departs from Henggang Station of Nanchang (Xiangtang) International Land Port in Jiangxi Province.
Maintaining the Stability of the Global Industrial Chain
Chinese President Xi Jinping, while attending the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19 on March 26, stressed, “Countries need to leverage and coordinate their macro policies to counteract the negative impact and prevent the world economy from falling into recession…We need to jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains stable.”
As a global rail transit equipment giant, 110-year-old CRRC Corporation Limited has systematically worked on orders for rail transit equipment exported to all parts of the world during the epidemic. CRRC Dalian company has also delivered the customized diesel EMU body for export to Abuja, Nigeria.
As the pandemic spread across the globe, the steel supply chain has been severely impacted. One example of how the supply chain is returning to normal is the story of an overseas customer who wanted customized ultra-thin steel sheets, a high-end steel product used in construction. However, a number of European and American suppliers could not take on this order due to the interruption of operations by the pandemic. The customer then approached China’s TISCO Precision Steel Strip Co., Ltd. The two sides signed the largest purchase order in the history of this company. Due to the tight delivery time and high quality requirements, TISCO pulled out all the stops to get the job done, and after 15 days, the first batch of products were delivered to Tianjin Port — ahead of the scheduled delivery date.
The global industrial and supply chains are closely linked, and breakdown at any link will directly affect the coordinated recovery of the world economy. Chinese enterprises, as a vital part of the global industrial and supply chains, have served a significant role in keeping the chains flowing. By focusing on epidemic control and work resumption simultaneously, they have strived to complete all orders on time, fulfilled quality and quantity requirements, and helped China make a positive contribution toward stabilizing the global industrial and supply chains.
Catalyzing Global Economic Recovery
On May 13, President Xi stressed, during a conversation with President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, that the two sides should gradually restore pragmatic cooperation in various fields while ensuring pandemic prevention and control. In addition, both leaders are seeking to promote major cooperation projects so as to advance the Belt and Road Initiative, which will serve to help Sri Lanka’s economy recover.
The extension line of Sri Lanka’s southern expressway constructed by Chinese enterprises has opened to traffic. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka prime minister, noted that in the future, goods from all over the world arriving at the Hambantota Port can be easily transported to Colombo.
Numerous overseas projects undertaken by Chinese enterprises operated normally during the pandemic, contributing to the stability of local economies and societies. In Brazil, the State Grid Brazil holding company, which operates 15,000 kilometers of transmission lines, organized its employees to maintain the normal transmission of electricity, lighting up tens of thousands of local households.In Pakistan, the coal-fired power station of Qasim Port, invested by Power Construction Corporation of China, provides electricity for more than four million users. In Cambodia, China Huaneng Group’s Sesan 2 hydropower station focuses on both anti-pandemic efforts and maintaining electricity supply, offering sustained support for economic and social progress.
Humphrey Moshi, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam, believes that the impact of the pandemic is temporary, and port, railway, and other large infrastructure projects will continue to be constructed after a short suspension, so as to promote economic recovery, driving the development of related industries.
Technology and Upgrading
The pandemic has plunged the whole world into a maelstrom. Trumph Group, a subsidiary of China National Building Materials Group Corporation, while rolling out pandemic prevention efforts, coordinates with regional enterprises, and successfully manages material storage and transportation. It carried out business activities virtually and won orders in the Eastern European market of more than US $100 million.
“When the number of on-duty personnel was less than 60 percent, we used new technology to realize intelligent production, so that the first-class product rate and the finished product rate exceeded 90 percent, and the output was basically the same as previous years,” said Peng Shou, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of Trumph. Peng noted that with the advantage of scientific and technological innovation, Trumph signed a PV power plant deal worth more than US $100 million in Poland with the GPC group in Europe during the pandemic period, and secured RMB 1 billion worth of orders for display modules in South Korea alone.
From January to April this year, Trumph’s revenue increased by 20.6 percent year-on-year, and its profits increased by 7.8 percent.
A group of state-owned enterprises like Trumph have not only successfully surmounted the negative impact of the pandemic, but have also pushed forward development, bucking the trend. These business achievements originate from the development of new business, digital transformation, and active innovation. One of these enterprises is China Merchants Group. The navigation of more than 300 ships are managed by utilizing visual platforms, while through an online booking platform, the enterprise’s customers can complete their booking and customs declarations in the comfort of their own homes. Li Jianhong, chairman of China Merchants Group, said that the pandemic once again demonstrates that digital transformation is vital to business success.
Despite the challenges created by the epidemic, State Grid has accelerated the overall arrangement of new infrastructure, launched new online services, stepped up research of big data, created a “smart supply chain,” and made transformation and breakthroughs in many aspects.
