Quanzhou's first direct container route to the Middle East officially opened

      On the morning of May 25th, with the sound of a whistle, the container "Xingyuan" carrying local goods such as mechanical equipment, generator sets, stones, children's shoes, bathroom, etc. in Quanzhou slowly departed from the Shihu operation area of Quanzhou Port and set sail for Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, marking the official opening of Quanzhou's first direct container route to the Middle East.
      The "Quanzhou Middle East" container liner route opened this time has a port sequence of Qingdao Ningbo Quanzhou Shihu Nansha Middle East Dubai, and extends to St. Petersburg, Russia. The route has seven container ships, including the "Xingyuan" and "Haisi" ships, providing biweekly operation services. After the opening of the route, it will effectively radiate to major countries in the Middle East, promote economic and trade cooperation between Quanzhou and the Middle East, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, further promote the leapfrog development of economic and trade cooperation with Russia, and create an international ocean route connecting countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road".
     The Quanzhou Middle East route is a microcosm of Quanzhou's efforts to give full play to its advantages in port resources, seize the development opportunities of the "the Belt and Road" and increase international market development. In recent years, Quanzhou has actively served the "dual circulation" strategy, accurately cultivated foreign trade routes through "one line, one policy", and comprehensively promoted the construction of port infrastructure and comprehensive supporting facilities behind the port, enabling and improving the high-quality development of the central port area of Quanzhou Port. In 2022, Quanzhou Port was listed as one of the world's top 100 container ports. At present, Quanzhou has opened 18 foreign trade routes along the "the Belt and Road", which directly reach the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, the Middle East and other countries and regions. From January to April this year, Quanzhou's foreign trade container throughput reached 42500 TEUs, a 70% increase compared to the previous year, maintaining a strong growth momentum against the trend.