Xiamen Port has launched more than 100 container liner routes connecting 55 countries and regions. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Xiamen Port in the identically named city of East China's Fujian province has become a key driving force for the city's high-quality development, said local officials.

As the largest port in the province, Xiamen Port comprises nine port areas and 176 major berths, with 157 container liner routes connecting 55 countries and regions around the world. 

Despite the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the port's container throughput reached 11.41 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2020, ranking seventh in the country. 

Wu Shunbin, director of the Xiamen port bureau, said ports are important foundations for prosperity in coastal cities.

"Ports can provide convenient passenger and freight transport services, thereby attracting multiple industries and enhancing the competitiveness of cities," Wu said.

Research conducted by Xiamen Shipping Exchange and Shanghai Maritime University in 2018 showed Xiamen Port contributed about 10.48 percent of the city's GDP in that year. Every 10,000 containers generated output valued at around 61.5 million yuan ($9.52 million) and tax revenue of 3.39 million yuan.

Last year, Xiamen's import and export value amounted to nearly 700 billion yuan, accounting for about half of the province's total volume. About 95 percent of all foreign trade was shipped by sea.

Ports are essential to foreign trade, said Cai Liqun, general manager of Xiamen Port Group, adding that Xiamen's foreign trade continues to thrive thanks to the port's many routes and upgraded logistics.

Ding Changfa, a professor of economics at Xiamen University, said the flourishing foreign trade has not only promoted local industries, but has exerted a positive effect on surrounding cities, boosting textile manufacturing in Quanzhou and Putian and the stone industry in Nan'an.

Another beneficiary is the logistics industry. According to official data, Xiamen is home to 10,449 logistics enterprises, 9,735 freight forwarding companies and 1,002 customs brokers.

Among them is Zhonggu Shipping, which operates 16 routes for domestic trade and recorded a container throughput of 2.44 million TEUs last year.

The port has provided great opportunities to the company's growth, said a representative from Zhonggu.

The company is currently building a container logistics base to provide integrated services for container transshipment, refrigerated logistics, and bulk cargo warehousing and distribution.

"It will help to tackle weaknesses in the industrial chain and further bolster Xiamen's logistics industry," the company representative said.

In addition to traditional industries, a host of port-based sectors are emerging such as shipping finance and the cruise industry.

Xiamen received 136 cruise ships in 2019 and had an annual passenger throughput of 413,700, ranking fourth in China.

While the port strongly supports Xiamen's growth, in return, the city needs to provide the port with excellent resources, a business-friendly environment and supportive infrastructure, Wu said.

Considering the success stories of port cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, city-portindustry coordinated development is a path that Xiamen must follow, Wu added.

Xiamen has rolled out a slew of measures to improve its business environment over the past few years. In 2019 and 2020, Xiamen placed first in evaluations for the business environment in China's top 10 container ports.

"We seldom worry about demurrage (late fees) due to the high work efficiency of Xiamen Customs," said Zhu Yunbiao, general manager of Alphalog Freight System (Xiamen).

As long as applicants submit required materials for customs formalities, some goods such as fresh food can be cleared the same day their declarations are made, Zhu said.

The city has also allocated a sizeable amount of land for Xiamen Port's future development when doing the urban land planning.

For example, a cruise cargo supply base will be built in the Dongdu port area to support the cruise industry, and local authorities are advancing the construction of a fully automated large container terminal in the Xiang'an port area to increase its ability to handle containers.

Wu said Xiamen Port is poised to speed up its transformation toward high-level informatization and digitalization to improve efficiency and offer better services for enterprises.

Meanwhile, Xiamen Port is ramping up its efforts to support the Belt and Road Initiative.

In May, a new route to the Philippines was launched, which was the port's sixth route to BRIinvolved countries and regions this year, according to local officials.

"We will reinforce Xiamen Port's position as an international logistics hub to pool productive resources, spur industries' upgrading, and help pursue the development goals of Xiamen and Fujian province," Wu said.