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 Entrepreneurs' Roles" (hereinafter 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, adherence to laws and regulations, resilience in the face of challenges, commitment to innovation and development, unwavering focus on quality, relentless pursuit of excellence, active responsibility-taking, courage to step up, and a strong sense of service to society. These entrepreneurs are expected to align closely with the nation's major policies and strategies, proactively implement national decisions and plans, drive rapid economic and social progress, and contribute to 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 emerged as an advanced cold-chain, warehousing, and logistics hub serving the entire central and western region. Most notably, the company has pioneered the seamless integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with local livelihood projects, making significant contributions to economic and social development along the way.

■ Aligning with the nation's "Belt and Road" Initiative to help businesses accelerate 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," emphasizing 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 sectors like mariculture, distant-water fishing, and seafood processing." The plan also highlighted leveraging "the vast inland hinterland, abundant human resources, and a solid industrial foundation," while relying on key regions such as the Central Plains Urban Cluster to boost regional synergy and drive clustered industrial development. Additionally, it called for "establishing coordinated railway transportation and customs clearance mechanisms along the China-Europe land corridor, strengthening the 'China-Europe Railway Express' brand, and developing transport routes that seamlessly connect domestic and international markets, linking East, Central, and West regions." Furthermore, the initiative supports cities like Zhengzhou in building air 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 Comprehensive Transportation System," further refining the layout of integrated transportation hubs and, for the first time, officially designating Zhengzhou as one of the nation’s twelve top-tier international comprehensive 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 important gateway for inland areas to open up to the 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 and attracting industries to cluster around these hubs—thereby fostering high-speed rail, aviation-related, and port-based 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 Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has arrived at the perfect moment. At a time when China’s 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 primary rail lines, six high-speed rail lines, 21 urban rail transit systems, and an extensive network of 11 highways. The Zhengzhou-Europe freight train, which initially operated just one round-trip per month, has now expanded to run "four outbound and four inbound" trains weekly—demonstrating the region’s growing logistical prowess. Meanwhile, Zhengzhou’s aviation hub continues to unlock its full potential, further enhancing the city’s ability to serve as a critical node in global trade networks. This strengthened logistics infrastructure not only supports the company’s expanding business reach but also significantly reduces overall operational costs across the port. As a result, the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is well-positioned to play a pivotal role in solidifying Zhengzhou’s status as a leading logistics hub in Central China. Beyond domestic benefits, the Belt and Road Initiative has also created invaluable platforms and opportunities for the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port to forge international partnerships and tap into new global markets, paving the way for sustained growth and innovation on the global stage.

　　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 of the Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port. The "Henan Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port" project has been officially included in the dynamic "Belt and Road" Project Database, which currently features a selection of influential and driving projects nationwide that are actively contributing to the broader "Belt and Road" infrastructure 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 "Belt and Road" initiative. He emphasized that, amid the national implementation of the "Belt and Road" strategy, the external environment has provided robust support for the company’s development—and that its strategic direction is fully in sync with government policies. Li Guoqiang expressed confidence that, by leveraging its position within the "Belt and Road" framework, the Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is poised to achieve significant momentum and success in the years ahead.

■ Continuously pursuing excellence to lead the forefront of cold-chain industry 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 development goal for Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is to rapidly scale up, strengthen its position, and enhance its quality, ultimately seizing a leading edge in China’s cold-chain industry and becoming an industry-leading enterprise.

　　First, the company is committed to becoming a leading large-scale cold-chain service provider, scaling up operations while continuously enhancing the quality and efficiency of 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. Frozen foods have already become an essential part of Chinese consumers' diets, particularly among urban populations. This evolving consumer demand is directly fueling the rapid growth of the frozen and cold-chain industry. Cold-chain logistics has always been 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 remains one of the toughest challenges facing cold-chain enterprises today. To address this challenge effectively, one promising strategy is to accelerate the development of large-scale cold-chain service providers. Only by expanding their scale can these companies gain the strength and resources needed to further refine and strengthen their operations. Currently, China’s cold-chain logistics and refrigeration storage sectors are still in their growth phase. Per capita cold-storage capacity in China is currently just one-fifth that of the United States, leaving ample room for future expansion. In response to market opportunities, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port has already completed Phase I of its project, featuring an 180,000-ton cold-storage facility. Building on this success, the company recently expanded the complex by adding another 70,000-ton facility, significantly boosting its 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 thriving development of the Zhengzhou-Europe Railway Express. By strengthening collaboration with Zhengzhou’s railway network, the company aims to establish Zhengzhou as a key railway-based cold-chain hub, positioning the city as a central node in China’s cold-chain logistics infrastructure. Ultimately, the goal is to transform frozen products and cold-chain services into a new hallmark of Zhengzhou, elevating the city’s reputation as a global leader in the industry. To achieve these ambitious goals, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port is not only focused on expanding its business scale and enhancing market competitiveness but also investing heavily in building an integrated cold-chain logistics supply chain, a robust financial supply chain, and a comprehensive end-to-end information platform. Through innovative approaches to cold-chain logistics management and cutting-edge technology adoption, the company is striving to elevate its cold-chain operations to higher levels of sophistication and premium quality. This forward-thinking strategy positions Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port as a trailblazer in the industry, enabling it to seize leadership roles in the rapidly evolving cold-chain sector and solidify its status as a dominant player in China’s frozen goods distribution landscape.

　　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, both historically significant starting points of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to establish robust trade links with Southeast Asian nations. Previously, aquatic products in China were primarily sold within Zhengzhou or neighboring markets. However, thanks to the integration of e-commerce platforms and an advanced logistics distribution network, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port now serves customers across more than 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 improved cold-chain logistics network has significantly streamlined product distribution while reducing overall shipping costs. Coupled with the port’s expanded refrigeration capacity, this has made it even more appealing to businesses, leading to a steady increase in the number of merchants operating there. When the port first opened in October 2013, it hosted just over 1,000 businesses; today, that number has surged to between 2,000 and 3,000, with annual merchandise transactions surpassing 100 billion yuan. In 2016, Zhongyuan Aquatic Products Logistics Port established Zhongbu Siji International Trade Co., Ltd., leveraging the advantages of Henan’s Air Cargo Economic Experimental Zone and its meat import/export port. 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 Siji Aquatic Products Logistics Port has generated over 100,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, driving significant growth in the local tertiary sector. As a result, the port has not only delivered impressive economic returns but also contributed positively to social development, marking a win-win outcome for both the economy and society.

■ Multi-dimensional external collaboration fosters innovative growth through leveraging partnerships

　　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. Unlike the past, when companies relied solely on their own efforts and individual entrepreneurial heroism to drive success, modern society now thrives on deepening specialization and collaboration. As businesses increasingly collaborate across various stages of the value chain—providing mutual support, sharing resources, and complementing each other’s strengths—they’re making strategic cooperation an essential path to faster growth. Even competitors within the same industry are increasingly embracing win-win partnerships as their top priority. It is precisely this collaborative mindset that has inspired Qiu Xinhang to lead Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port in actively seeking cooperative partners both domestically and internationally, fostering multi-dimensional external collaborations and tapping into external resources to fuel even greater enterprise advancement.

　　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 highly diversified, multinational 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 Siji 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 fishing port and food hub. As part of this initiative, a massive 150,000-ton cold-storage facility was constructed, positioning the port as an internationally recognized center for meat and seafood storage and trade, with annual transaction volumes expected to exceed 50 billion RMB. This strategic collaboration with Singapore’s leading food group not only secures vital investment capital but also brings in the proven management expertise of a globally respected foreign enterprise. Moreover, it opens up exclusive access to the partner’s extensive market networks, further enhancing business opportunities and growth prospects.

　　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 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 via rail networks. 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 save substantial time and reduce warehousing costs. Additionally, through strategic investment partnerships with Beihai City, we aim to deeply tap into the burgeoning aquatic product markets across the Pan-Beibu Gulf region, effectively connecting to the Maritime Silk Road. Centered in Beihai, we will extend our business footprint outward, forging a new network of operations that spans 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 slightly reduce profitability, it ultimately enhances a company’s reputation, strengthens 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 in 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, but also stimulates the growth of related industries, collectively contributing to increased tax revenues. Second, the company places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of life for ordinary citizens. For everyday people, what truly matters are tangible benefits—concrete, visible improvements that bring a sense of fulfillment and well-being. As a key "vegetable basket" project in both Henan Province and Zhengzhou City, the Zhongyuan Aquatic Product Logistics Port is fully committed to serving the public, working tirelessly to make daily life more convenient and enjoyable by delivering fresh seafood directly to the tables of Central China residents. Moreover, the company has launched the "Care for Veteran Anti-Japanese War Soldiers" public welfare initiative, 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 advocacy, playing a leading role in establishing the Henan Provincial Food Safety Promotion Association and being elected as a vice-presidential member. Together with other enterprises, they’ve created a collaborative platform for ensuring food safety across society. Beyond business operations, the company is deeply involved in charitable activities, making meaningful contributions to the broader cause of philanthropy. The "Belt and Road Initiative" isn’t just about benefiting China’s people—it also aims to lead countries and regions along the route toward shared prosperity and sustainable development. By fostering rapid growth within the logistics port, the company is helping to spur the development of complementary industries in neighboring nations, ultimately empowering local communities to boost their incomes and improve their livelihoods.