Workshop on New Western Land-Sea Corridor Highlights MCDF Support for Sustainable China-ASEAN Multimodal Transport and Trade

Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) grant support for building sustainable multimodal transport and trade within the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, between China’s southwest and markets across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, was highlighted at a workshop co-organized by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), MCDF, and the Qinbei District Government on 28 May in Qinzhou, China.

Under the workshop theme Promoting Hub Economy, Connecting ASEAN, participants from local and national government in China, AIIB, and partners discussed preparatory activities under the China-ASEAN Sea-Rail Multimodal Logistics Project funded by a USD1.66 million MCDF grant approved in 2023. AIIB, an MCDF Implementing Partner, is implementing the project.

In a presentation, Ms. Linghui Cai, Senior Program Officer at MCDF, described MCDF grant-supported demand and economic analysis and design work for a smart and green sea-rail logistics park in Qinzhou, a port city in China’s Guangxi Province with more than 75 total routes, including around 50 international routes overall and 35 that connect with ASEAN countries.

She and other workshop participants emphasized the importance of these project activities for boosting the logistic park’s handling efficiency, value-adding manufacturing, e-commerce, and potential to drive wider trade growth and sustainable development, in alignment with International Financial Institution standards and good practices required for AIIB and partner financing.

The activities aim to better gauge the logistics park’s multimodal impact on development and cross-border connectivity; provide a detailed decarbonization and climate risk assessment to reduce its carbon footprint, and guide planning and engineering to deliver an operationally efficient and sustainable logistics park design.

“The China-ASEAN Sea-Rail Multimodal Logistics Project reflects MCDF’s core values by prioritizing strong regional connectivity, partnership, and climate resilience features,” explained Ms. Cai. “The MCDF grant-funded studies will ensure International Financial Institution standards are applied from the preparatory stage and lay the groundwork for more sustainable China-ASEAN connectivity and trade.”