NINGBO, with one of the most significant ports in the East China Sea, is embracing opportunities from China's "Belt and Road" initiative and is keen to strengthen its business ties with countries in central and east Europe.

Trade between this Zhejiang Province hub and Europe can be traced back to the Middle Ages and China is keen to revive the ancient trade route that used to feed both inland and offshore commerce.

Ningbo has been a major trade partner of central and east Europe with bilateral trade value topping US$2.45 billion in 2014 — one twentieth of China's total trade transactions with the region.

The central and east European investments in Ningbo has climbed to US$65.8 million in total, while Ningbo itself has investments of US$14.33 million in the region.

As business activities continue to boom, the Ningbo government is designing more penetrative policies to boost bilateral trade and further stimulate the city's potential in forging a trade-oriented economy.

Ningbo will spend 85 million yuan (US$13.7 million) every year to drive trade and increase investments with its central and east European counterparts, as well as enhance cultural and tourism collaborations.

To make it easier for central and east European goods to arrive at the Ningbo port and smoothly enter the Chinese market, the local government is currently working on plans to simplify the customs procedure and establish a new sales system for products from the region.

The authorities are, at the same time, pushing forward trials in which the Chinese firms can carry out overseas acquisitions and secure loans abroad. The move is intended to prompt more and more Chinese companies to seek opportunities abroad that are expected to benefit the Chinese economy in return.

Apart from boosting the sea ties, Ningbo is also aware of the huge potential of inland rail transport. In 2016, Ningbo will start the construction of a new railway, named Yongjin, to link with its provincial neighbor Yiwu, where there is an existing line to Europe.

Stubbornly holding on to the existing strengths is not an option for both sides. To better embrace opportunities in the new, modern business world, the two sides have been holding constant business-related events to share their views and insight on the future prospects.

In 2014, a ministerial meeting was held in Ningbo to discuss the trade blueprint.

The series of business meetings came to a climax in June this year, when an investment expo kicked off in Ningbo. The event, featuring 18 key business programs, attracted more than 50,000 participants from 93 countries and a total of 185 business deals secured.

To hold similar such events, Ningbo will invest 5.25 billion yuan to construct two colossal buildings to showcase products from central and east Europe. The buildings will supplement existing amenities for the continent such as a logistics park, an industrial zone, as well as a big data platform as both parties seek greater collaborations.

With the Belt and Road initiative radiating optimism in various places along the well-known ancient route, Ningbo has come up with a seemingly spontaneous plan to raise the level of internationalization.

In March 2014, the Ningbo government launched a series of measures to improve the city’s infrastructure to make it more international.

Internationalization

Ningbo Port Co, the trade bureau, the foreign affairs office and Meishan Bonded Port were asked to design detailed execution plans to speed up the city's internationalization.

The city's action plan will go hand-in-hand with Zhejiang Province's overall government plan to tap in the national "Belt and Road" initiative that aims to boost China's overseas trade.

Via a so-called "610 Action Plan," meaning six development dimensions entailing 10 projects in each, Ningbo is ambitious to offer long-term momentum to support China's "Belt and Road" initiative.

The six dimensions are enhancing cooperation with foreign ports, enlarging overseas business channel, boosting overseas trade, fostering cultural exchange, promoting cross-border e-commerce and pushing forward systemic reform.

The ambition of realizing these goals will depend upon a remarkable amount of investment worth 142 billion yuan from the Ningbo government.

President Xi Jinping, during his inspection of Zhejiang earlier this year, said the harbor is the best resource for Ningbo and the area is set to become a hub capable of radiating the Yangtze Delta and even the whole East China.

The creation of a "harbor business circle" inevitably relies on the communication between various cities, industry parks and financial zones.

The Ningbo government knows all too well the importance of teamwork, as it is working together with inland cities like Xi'an and Nanchang to set up a network of rail transport to take goods to the west.

The new "rail plus sea" route, which came into being last year, has benefited countries in east and southeast Asia by saving them 10 days of transportation time and 10 percent in costs.

When it comes to big commodities trade, marine insurance, international exhibition, finance, and cross-border e-commerce, Ningbo looks to Shanghai as a role model, as Shanghai has the most efficient free trade zone and maritime policies in the country.

Ningbo is also closely working with other Chinese or overseas ports to cooperate in fields including construction of seaport facilities, design of maritime routes and pricing coordination.

For example, take its union with Zhoushan port. The combined assets have generated a strong push for the whole maritime business in Zhejiang Province. By the end of 2014, Ningbo had invested US$640 million in 481 companies in 40 countries along the "Belt and Road" route.

Ningbo is also planning to construct specific high-end parks to suit business and trade demands from countries such as Italy, Israel and Australia.

Ningbo is one of the most efficient ports in east China, and having dealt with the outside world for centuries has shaped the city's landscape. The port city has long been renowned for its commercial culture. Strategically located at the merging area of East China Sea and Yangtze River, it has served as an important courier station for merchants from inland and overseas.

The two ports — Ningbo and Zhoushan — own 235 sea routes to about 600 ports in more than 100 countries. Their cargo volume ranks fourth in the world, and the number of containers they handle ranks fifth.

Extraordinary port

Convenient trade routes have made it possible for Ningbo to enlarge its transaction volume with countries along the "Belt and Road," to countries in central and east Europe, as well as places in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In the first half of 2015, Ningbo's exports to these nations reached US$33.42 billion, accounting for 36.9 percent of its total export value. Ningbo's investments in these regions climbed 38.9 percent year-on-year in the same period to US$250 million.

The exchange between Ningbo and these nations goes well beyond a commercial tie. Ningbo has twined with 45 nations along the "Belt and Road" and has played host to various international business or cultural events.

ASEAN is currently Ningbo's third largest trade partner. The city is busy constructing an industrial base to take in innovative businesses from Singapore. At the same time, many well-known Chinese companies from Ningbo are opening branches in ASEAN.

E-commerce is arguably Zhejiang Province's image these days, and Ningbo has been working hard to boost its online business.

The city was among the first five places in China to be approved for running cross-border e-commerce.

Home to more than 200 cross-border e-commerce companies that sell over 4,000 products overseas, Ningbo ranks first in cross-border e-commerce business volume in China.

By the end of September in 2015, sales of imported products in Ningbo had nearly quadrupled the total volume of last year to 1.41 billion yuan, making it the first city in China to exceed the 1-billion volume in cross-border e-commerce.

In September alone, the sales of imported products jumped to 220 million yuan.

Outstanding access to sea transport makes Ningbo an excellent spot for couriering commodities such as minerals, oil and chemicals. For ASEAN nations, Ningbo is a great connection with Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

The Customs Bureau in Ningbo offers efficient and simplified customs procedures that greatly help foreign companies in Ningbo's various zones and export-oriented production bases.

By the end of 2014, Ningbo's foreign companies and institutes topped 2,048 and Ningbo itself invested US$3.5 billion.

All these factors contributed to Ningbo's extraordinary performance last year, with its GDP reaching 760.3 billion yuan and fiscal revenue 179.1 billion yuan.