Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port Supports the Belt and Road Initiative

　　Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Creating a Healthy Environment for Entrepreneurs' Growth, Promoting Outstanding Entrepreneurial Spirit, and Better Leveraging the Role of Entrepreneurs" (hereafter referred to as the "Opinions"). This marks the first time that entrepreneurial spirit has been formally recognized and its value highlighted in a dedicated central government document. The Opinions elaborate on the essence of entrepreneurial spirit, emphasizing that outstanding entrepreneurs in the new era should embody qualities such as patriotism, dedication to their work, compliance with laws and regulations, resilience in the face of challenges, commitment to innovation and development, unwavering focus on quality and excellence, and a strong sense of responsibility—alongside the courage to step up, take ownership, and contribute positively to society. These entrepreneurs actively align themselves with the nation's major policies and strategies, proactively implement national decisions and plans, drive rapid economic and social progress, and play a pivotal role in fostering shared prosperity across society.

　　Qiu Xinhang, Chairman of the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port, has consistently demonstrated the outstanding qualities of a remarkable entrepreneur through both his words and actions. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative prompted Qiu Xinhang to keenly recognize a historic business opportunity. Recognizing that infrastructure connectivity and the development of cross-regional logistics networks are critical pillars for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, Qiu Xinhang boldly chose the cold-chain logistics sector as the strategic entry point for his company’s growth. Under his visionary leadership, after five years of steady expansion, the company has now become one of the largest markets in China’s central and western regions—integrating the trade and processing of seafood, freshwater products, and livestock commodities. Moreover, it has evolved into an advanced cold-chain, warehousing, and logistics hub serving the entire region. Most notably, the company has emerged as a pioneer in aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with local livelihood projects, making significant contributions to economic and social development along the way.

　　■ Aligning with the national "Belt and Road" Initiative to help companies accelerate their growth

　　Qiu Xinhang believes that entrepreneurs should be patriotic and dedicated to their work, willing to take responsibility and actively respond to the nation's major policies and guidelines through concrete actions, ensuring the effective implementation of critical national decisions. It is precisely this proactive engagement with the country's strategic policies and decisive execution of key initiatives that have given rise to the Central China Aquatic Products Logistics Port—a vital project aimed at improving people's livelihoods. Moreover, as the "Belt and Road" initiative continues to gain momentum and companies increasingly benefit from related policy advantages, the firm has achieved rapid growth over the past five years.

　　In September and October 2013, during his visits to Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the ambitious initiatives of jointly building the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road." In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce jointly released the "Vision and Action Plan for Promoting the Joint Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," highlighting key priorities such as "expanding areas of mutual investment, fostering deep cooperation in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, agricultural machinery, and agro-processing industries, and actively advancing collaboration in marine aquaculture, distant-water fishing, and seafood processing." The plan also emphasized leveraging "the vast inland hinterland, abundant human resources, and a solid industrial foundation," while relying on key regions like the Central Plains Urban Cluster to drive regional synergy and cluster-based industrial development. Additionally, it called for "establishing coordinated railway transportation and customs clearance mechanisms along the China-Europe corridor, strengthening the 'China-Europe Railway Express' brand, and building transport routes that seamlessly connect domestic and international markets, linking East, Central, and West regions." Furthermore, the initiative supports inland cities like Zhengzhou in developing aviation hubs and international land ports, enhancing customs cooperation between inland and coastal/border ports, and piloting cross-border e-commerce services. In February 2017, the State Council issued the "Notice on the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Integrated Transport System," further refining the layout of comprehensive transportation hubs and, for the first time, officially designating Zhengzhou as one of the nation’s twelve top-tier international integrated transportation hubs.

　　Meanwhile, provinces, regions, and municipalities across the country are also accelerating the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, while aligning with the central government's overarching strategic framework to clearly define their own region’s strategic positioning and role within the initiative. Henan Province has specifically outlined its strategic vision: to become a vital integrated transportation hub and a leading trade, logistics, and commerce center along the Belt and Road, as well as a key platform for regional collaboration along the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor and an inland gateway for opening up to the outside world. In its 2017 Government Work Report, Henan emphasized leveraging transportation hubs like Zhengzhou as pivotal nodes to enhance their functional capabilities—using logistics to drive industrial growth, attracting industries to cluster around these hubs, and fostering high-speed rail, aviation, and port-related industries. Additionally, the province is committed to vigorously developing hub-based economies, with a particular focus on advancing five major industries, including modern logistics, especially by promoting the integrated development of the cold-chain logistics sector.

　　As a key provincial project in Henan Province—and also a flagship initiative under the province and city’s “Vegetable Basket” program—the Central China Aquatic Products Logistics Port has arrived at the perfect moment. At a time when the Belt and Road Initiative is accelerating its implementation, the company is seizing a historic opportunity for faster growth. With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative, Zhengzhou has emerged as a world-class, integrated transportation hub, connected by two airport terminals, 162 air routes, six major railway stations, two high-speed rail lines, 21 urban rail transit systems, and an extensive network of 11 highways. Meanwhile, the Zhengzhou-Europe freight train—a vital link in the China-Europe land trade corridor—has dramatically expanded from its initial schedule of one round trip per month to the current robust frequency of "four outbound and four inbound" trains each week. Meanwhile, Zhengzhou’s aviation hub continues to unlock its full logistical potential. These developments have significantly enhanced the region’s overall logistics capabilities, providing critical support for the company’s expanding business reach. By drastically cutting down on total logistics turnaround times, the port is playing a pivotal role in solidifying Zhengzhou’s position as a leading logistics hub in Central China. At the same time, the Belt and Road Initiative not only strengthens Zhengzhou’s domestic infrastructure but also opens up new avenues for the Central China Aquatic Products Logistics Port to engage in international collaboration and tap into global markets.

　　Special Symposium on the "Belt and Road" Initiative: Cultural Exchange and Economic Development

　　Researchers from the Development Research Center of the State Council, including Li Guoqiang, Honorary Director of Guosheng Think Tank, and other think tank experts, conducted a field study at the Central China Aquatic Products Logistics Port.

　　The Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has signed a special research collaboration agreement with the "Belt and Road" Cultural Exchange and Economic Development Research Group. Together, the two parties will engage in joint research, academic discussions, expert consultations, and other collaborative activities centered around the "Belt and Road" initiative and the specific project at Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port. The "Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port" project has been officially included in the dynamic database of "Belt and Road" initiatives—a curated list that features a selection of influential and driving projects nationwide related to the region's development. During his visit to the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port, Li Guoqiang, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council and Honorary Director of the Guosheng Think Tank, noted that the company’s growth is closely aligned with the broader goals of the "Belt and Road" initiative. He emphasized that, amid the national implementation of the "Belt and Road" strategy, the external environment has provided strong support for the company’s expansion—and that its strategic direction is fully in sync with government policies. Li expressed confidence that, by leveraging its position within the "Belt and Road" framework, the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is poised to achieve robust momentum and sustained success in the years ahead.

　　■ Continuously striving for excellence to secure a leading position in the cold-chain industry's development.

　　Pursuing excellence is one of the core tenets of outstanding entrepreneurial spirit—and it’s also the key driving force behind Qiu Xinhang’s leadership in steering the company’s sustained growth. For Qiu Xinhang, the long-term vision for Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port is to rapidly scale up, strengthen its position, and enhance its capabilities, ultimately seizing a leading edge in China’s cold-chain industry and becoming an industry-leading enterprise.

　　Logistics Port Cold Storage

　　First, the company is committed to becoming a leading large-scale cold-chain service provider, scaling up operations while continuously enhancing and optimizing its cold-chain services. As income levels rise, consumers are increasingly drawn to healthy food options, driving a growing demand for fresh, high-quality products. Among these, frozen foods have already become an essential part of Chinese consumers' diets—particularly among urban dwellers. This emerging consumer trend is directly fueling the rapid expansion of the frozen and cold-chain industry. Cold-chain logistics, however, remains a highly specialized and demanding segment of the supply chain, requiring significant capital investment in temperature-controlled equipment, strict adherence to precise temperature standards, and heavy reliance on energy resources. Balancing product quality with cost-efficiency has thus become one of the toughest challenges facing cold-chain enterprises today. To address this challenge effectively, one promising solution lies in accelerating the growth of large-scale cold-chain service providers. Only by expanding their scale can these companies gain the strength needed to further refine and strengthen their offerings. Currently, China’s cold-chain logistics and warehousing sector is still in its early stages of development. Per capita cold-storage capacity in China is currently just one-fifth that of the U.S., leaving ample room for future growth. In response to this opportunity, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has already made significant strides: Phase I of the project included the construction of an 180,000-ton cold storage facility, which was later expanded by an additional 70,000 tons as market demand evolved. These expansions have dramatically boosted the port’s overall freezing and refrigeration capabilities. Looking ahead, the company plans to leverage Zhengzhou’s strategic position as an international comprehensive transportation hub under the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the city’s growing role as a key player in the Zhengzhou-Europe Railway Express network. By deepening collaboration with Zhengzhou’s railway system, the company aims to establish Zhengzhou as a premier rail-based cold-chain hub, positioning the city as a regional center for China’s cold-chain logistics. Ultimately, the goal is to transform frozen goods and cold-chain services into Zhengzhou’s new hallmark, turning the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port into the nation’s leading distribution hub for frozen products. Building on its robust business growth and enhanced market competitiveness, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is also actively investing in the development of advanced cold-chain logistics and supply chains, integrated financial solutions, and a fully digitized information platform. Through innovative approaches to cold-chain logistics management and cutting-edge technology adoption, the company seeks to elevate its cold-chain operations to higher levels of sophistication and premium quality. This strategic focus not only strengthens the company’s competitive edge but also positions it firmly at the forefront of the evolving cold-chain industry, enabling it to capture leadership roles and solidify its status as a dominant force in China’s cold-chain ecosystem.

　　Second, we are further enhancing the logistics network, attracting more merchants to join, and enabling sustained business expansion. Over the past three-plus years, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has actively invested in building its logistics infrastructure, steadily extending its reach across key import-export ports in China. Today, the port’s network has essentially covered major Chinese ports, evolving from isolated hubs into interconnected routes that now form a comprehensive grid system. The land-based logistics network aligns seamlessly with the ancient Maritime Silk Road, facilitating seamless cargo transportation from Lianyungang westward through cities like Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xi’an, Lanzhou, and Urumqi—eventually connecting to Central Asia and European countries. Meanwhile, the maritime logistics network leverages Guangxi’s Beihai and Qinzhou ports—historical gateways of the ancient Maritime Silk Road—to establish robust trade links with Southeast Asian nations. Previously, aquatic products could only be sold locally in Zhengzhou or nearby markets. However, thanks to the integration of e-commerce platforms and an advanced logistics distribution network, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port now serves as a regional hub, delivering goods to over 10 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, including Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Chongqing. The establishment of a sophisticated cold-chain logistics network has significantly streamlined product transportation while reducing overall logistics costs. Coupled with the port’s expanded refrigeration capacity, this has made it even more appealing to merchants, leading to a steady increase in the number of businesses operating within the port. In October 2013, when Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port first opened, it hosted just over 1,000 merchants; today, that number has surged to between 2,000 and 3,000, with annual merchandise transactions surpassing 100 billion yuan. In 2016, Zhongyuan Four Seasons International Trade Co., Ltd. was officially established, capitalizing on the advantages of Henan’s Air Cargo Economic Zone and its meat import/export facilities. The company plans to invest 800 million RMB to construct a state-of-the-art cold-storage facility with a capacity of 100,000 tons, creating an international spot trading center for meat products via e-commerce. This initiative aims to achieve an annual transaction volume exceeding 30 billion yuan. The successful operation of Zhongyuan Four Seasons Aquatic Products Logistics Port has not only created over 100,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities but has also spurred significant growth in the local tertiary sector. As a result, the port has delivered impressive economic and social benefits, proving itself as a vital engine for regional development.

　　■ Multi-dimensional international collaboration drives innovation and leverages development.

　　Enterprise development requires timely innovation in approaches and methods. Leveraging strategic partnerships to achieve growth has become a critical strategy for accelerating business expansion today. Modern society is fundamentally different from the past, when companies relied solely on individual efforts and the personal heroism of their leaders to drive entrepreneurial success. Today, as societal division of labor and collaboration continue to deepen, forming strategic alliances among businesses across various industry segments—where companies mutually provide operational support, share resources, and complement each other’s strengths—has emerged as an essential path to faster growth. Even competitors within the same industry are increasingly embracing win-win cooperation as their top priority. It is precisely under the impetus of this collaborative mindset that Qiu Xinhang has led Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port to strategically partner with diverse organizations both domestically and internationally, fostering multi-dimensional external collaborations and tapping into external resources to propel the company’s development even further.

　　Qiu Xinhang, Chairman of Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port, and Wei Chenghui, Chairman of the Board of Singapore's First Food Group, signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

　　Introducing Singapore's first food group, leveraging the strengths of international capital. Established in 1977, Singapore's pioneering food group has grown into one of the country’s largest private enterprises. Led by Mr. Wei Chenghui, a prominent Chinese-Singaporean entrepreneur and Chairman of the Board, the group now boasts several publicly listed companies, with its core businesses anchored in the food and construction sectors. Its investment portfolio spans diverse industries—including steel, logistics, real estate, finance, telecommunications, and healthcare—operating across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa as a dynamic, multi-faceted, and globally integrated corporate conglomerate. Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has welcomed Singapore’s leading food group as a strategic investor, partnering with them to jointly develop Zhongyuan Four Seasons Agricultural Products Logistics Port—a state-of-the-art, integrated facility combining warehousing and trading services for frozen seafood, livestock products, and seasonings. This cutting-edge hub not only serves as a premier storage and distribution center but also sets a new benchmark for cold-chain logistics in China. In Tianjin, the company successfully acquired Tianjin Jin San International Logistics Co., Ltd., capitalizing on the region’s strategic advantages at the Tianjin Binhai New Area’s central fishery port and food hub. As part of this initiative, they have expanded their cold-storage capacity to 150,000 tons, positioning themselves as an internationally recognized leader in meat and seafood storage and trade. The project is poised to become a world-class logistics and trading center, with annual transaction volumes expected to exceed 50 billion RMB. This strategic collaboration with Singapore’s top-tier food group not only secures vital investment capital but also brings in the proven management expertise of a renowned foreign enterprise. Moreover, it opens up exclusive access to the partner’s extensive global market networks, enabling both parties to unlock new growth opportunities and strengthen their competitive edge in the industry.

　　Logistics Hub Office Building

　　In collaboration with COSCO Shipping Group and the Beihai Municipal Government, we are fully streamlining logistics and transportation along the Belt and Road Initiative, significantly expanding the market reach of our company’s products. By partnering with COSCO Shipping Group, we can establish a seamless sea-rail intermodal logistics system that integrates maritime and rail transport. This allows us to directly load our cold-chain fresh food products—imported via sea freight from Europe and North America—onto trains at COSCO’s specialized cold-chain ports, enabling efficient distribution to our company’s regional outlets or direct delivery to customers. Similarly, our products can also be transported directly by rail to COSCO’s ports, where they are promptly loaded onto ships for global shipment, helping the company cut down substantially on both transit time and warehousing expenses. Additionally, through strategic investment partnerships with Beihai City, we aim to deeply tap into the burgeoning aquatic product markets across the Greater Beibu Gulf region, effectively connecting with the Maritime Silk Road. Centered in Beihai, we will extend our business network outward, forging new connections that span Southeast Asian countries and beyond.

　　■ Focusing on people's well-being and actively giving back to society

　　Consciously fulfilling social responsibility makes entrepreneurs true global citizens. As the fundamental building blocks of society, businesses—not only need to operate legally and generate profits but also should actively prioritize people's well-being, proactively embrace their social responsibilities, and continuously give back to the community. While taking on social obligations may increase operational costs and reduce profitability in the short term, it ultimately enhances a company’s reputation, fosters stronger customer loyalty, and paves the way for long-term, sustainable growth. That’s why more and more companies are now stepping up to voluntarily assume and fulfill their social responsibilities—regularly sharing updates with the public about how they’re making a positive impact on society.

　　The Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port is driving local economic growth and improving people's livelihoods while actively fulfilling its social responsibilities. First, by ensuring the company’s steady and sustainable development, it not only creates more employment opportunities for the local community, boosting residents' incomes continuously, but also stimulates the growth of related industries, collectively contributing to increased tax revenues. Second, the company places great emphasis on enhancing everyday life for ordinary citizens. What the public truly values are tangible benefits—real, visible, and meaningful "sense of gain" in their daily lives. As a key project under Henan Province and Zhengzhou City’s initiative to ensure food security, the Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port remains fully committed to serving the people, working tirelessly to deliver fresh seafood directly to the tables of Central China residents, making their lives more convenient and enjoyable. Moreover, the company has launched the "Care for Veteran Anti-Japanese War Soldiers" public welfare campaign, providing numerous retired veterans with opportunities to start and grow their own businesses at the logistics port. Additionally, the company actively participates in food safety initiatives, playing a leading role in establishing the Henan Provincial Food Safety Promotion Association and being elected as a vice-presidential unit. Together with other enterprises, it has helped build a robust platform for collaborative governance of food safety across society. Beyond its domestic impact, the company is deeply committed to the "Belt and Road Initiative," which aims not only to benefit the Chinese people but also to uplift communities along the entire route toward shared prosperity and sustainable development. By fostering rapid growth, the company is poised to catalyze the mutual development of industries in neighboring countries and regions, ultimately empowering local populations to boost their incomes and improve their quality of life.