On September 22, the Commercial Section (Walloon Region) of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in China held “The Best Gateway to Europe” Liege Airport and Its Multimodal Logistics Ecosystem Promotion Conference in Chengdu with the collaborative support of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Chengdu Municipality and Sichuan Chamber of International Commerce. Leveraging the platform provided by the Chengdu-Europe Industry Dialogue, a delegation of 16 Belgian logistics institutions and enterprises visited Chengdu, where they engaged in targeted face-to-face matchmaking sessions with hundreds of Chengdu counterparts to explore strategies for jointly establishing a new logistics corridor that fosters mutual empowerment and enhances the connection between China and Europe.

 

 

At the promotion conference, Torsten Wefers, Vice President Sales & Marketing of the Liege Airport, and Zhang Dongqing, Cargo Development Manager of the Liege Airport, offered a systematic overview of the airport and its ecosystem.

 

 

Focusing on five major areas—ground services, customs clearance compliance, warehousing and multimodal transport hubs, last-mile delivery, and innovation synergy—16 institutions, including the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency, Logistics in Wallonia, Liege Airport, and Bpostgroup, elaborated the Belgian solutions. Among them were many “China experts”: Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), with 30 years of experience in Liege, provides ground services that cover the whole industry chain for Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Cainiao, SF Express, and other Chinese enterprises; Novandi, a multimodal logistics operator in close proximity to the Liege Airport, operates weekly shipments of bulk cargo and containers in both directions via CHINA RAILWAY Express and other rail services. Bpostgroup stated unequivocally, “Chengdu is a gateway to western China. We aim to deliver more Chinese goods through Chengdu to Europe and beyond.” The Chengdu-Liege all-cargo flight route, operated by Air China Cargo, was launched on August 26, 2024. Currently, the route operates seven flights per week with Airbus A330 freighters. It has established an efficient and convenient air corridor for economic and trade exchanges between western China and Belgium.

 

 

The Chengdu-Europe Industry Dialogue has not only facilitated direct exchanges between the logistics sectors of Chengdu and Belgium but also elevated cooperation from mere connectivity to a deeper bond. Looking ahead, Chengdu-Europe Industry Dialogue will continue to strengthen the logistics network between China and Belgium. Through this mutual commitment, Chengdu-Europe collaboration is set to accelerate and inject greater momentum into the open global economy.

 

Edited by Zhang Yuanlin

Source:Chengdu Discovery