BEIJING, China, May 25 — President Xi Jinping has urged Shandong, China’s second-largest province in population and an important economic powerhouse, to pursue reform-driven high-quality development and build itself into “a hub of high-level opening-up”, as he wrapped up an inspection tour to the eastern province on Friday. The three-day fact-finding trip brought Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, to the cities of Rizhao and Jinan. During his visit on Wednesday afternoon to Rizhao Port, a national model for intelligent and sustainable bulk cargo handling, Xi affirmed the port’s efforts in turning itself from a traditional port into a modern one by advancing technological innovation in recent years.
Now the port not only ranks among the top in terms of its cargo throughput across the country, but has also gained valuable experience in upgrading and transforming traditional industries to foster new quality productive forces, he said. Constructed after China launched reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, Rizhao Port has evolved into a vital global hub for the transshipment of energy and bulk raw materials, with 76 operational berths and over 80 domestic and international container shipping routes. Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the port’s cargo throughput increased by 6.
7 percent year-on-year, and container throughput grew by 15.3 percent year-on-y.
