China is building a new land-sea corridor in its western region to accelerate opening up and promote international economic and trade cooperation, according to a plan unveiled by the National Development and Reform Commission recently.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which passes through Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province in the southwest and Beibu Gulf in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, shortens the shipping time between Chongqing and Singapore from 25 to just seven days. The new infrastructure will add wings to the development of west China. For example, the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, which was established in 2006 and comprises six cities in Guangxi, had no major industrial projects 10 years ago. Now an industrial cluster incorporating electronic information, metallurgy, petrochemicals, food processing and light manufacturing has taken shape.

The corridor will also boost the growth of international trade, cross-border logistics, e-commerce, finance, and convention and exhibition services.

It's notable that the plan has gone beyond west China to include south China's Hainan Province. The closer collaboration and interaction between different regions will significantly add to the vitality of the regional economy.

Moreover, the corridor showcases the Chinese Government's resolve to expand opening up and balance regional development. It will not only enable west China to integrate into the world economy but also increase the resilience of the overall Chinese economy.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Outlook Weekly on August 26)