The Qingdao Plan for Building a Comprehensive Transportation System (2021-2035) was recently released. According to the Plan, Qingdao will push ahead with the construction of an international shipping center, an international aviation hub, a national railway hub and an international urban transportation system in an overall effort to become an international comprehensive transportation hub featuring land-and-sea transportation.

In regard to enhance Qingdao’s status as an international gateway hub, the Plan stipulates that Qingdao will leverage its strengths in sea, land and air transportation to connect central Asia, west Asia and Europe westward, and Japan and South Korea eastward, and move faster to make new ground in opening China further through links running eastward and westward across land and over sea. Efforts will be made to accelerate integrated development of a world-class port cluster on Shandong Peninsula, in which Qingdao Port features, in line with the most advanced practices in the world. Qingdao will take solid steps to enhance the role of Jiaodong International Airport as an aviation hub, consolidate its position as a gateway for Northeast Asia, operate shipping routes more frequently to Japan and South Korea, expand intercontinental routes and improve international services.

The implementation of the Plan, which further stipulates the strategic direction for the building of a comprehensive transportation system in Qingdao, will facilitate Qingdao’s efforts to improve the capacity of allocating resources across the globe, help Qingdao foster stronger connectivity with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Delta and the region along the Yellow River, and promote the construction of a cluster of cities with international appeal on Shandong Peninsula. (Wang Bingjie)