Two cargo ships carrying nearly 30,000 cubic meters of exported equipment and materials leave Yantai Port, for the Republic of Guinea. [Photo/Yantai News]

According to statistics released by Yantai Port, which is a subsidiary of Shandong Port Group (SPG), the China-Africa liner shipping business has maintained robust growth this year, with a total of 33 liner ships leaving Yantai Port for Africa since this year, and the delivery volume of Chinese-African cargo liner at the port exceeding 650,000 metric tons, an increase of 81 percent year-on-year.

The robust rise of China-Africa liner shipping business shows that the China-Africa Two-way Logistics Golden Channel is playing a vital role in growing China-Africa trade and has given the Belt and Road Initiative a new lease on life.

According to local officials, the port has aggressively responded to SPG's request to balance epidemic prevention and control with safe and stable operation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Yantai Port developed an innovative model to encourage collaboration between ports and logistics firms with the help of SPG, and introduced custom-made services for its customers. Both have helped customers save money on logistics by optimizing and upgrading their one-stop service network.

Yantai Port has increased efforts to improve the coordinated development of its five port areas in order to develop it into a key port for the export of Chinese products as well as a main port for the import of aluminum raw materials, as it is an important hub along the China-Africa Two-way Logistics Golden Channel and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.