The routes slash transportation time and costs and are bringing huge benefits to foreign trade companies. They are also playing a vital role in facilitating trade and economic cooperation with BRI countries, local officials said.

From January to July, Guangzhou racked up 185.47 billion yuan ($28.7 billion) in import and export with BRI countries, up 32.3 percent compared with the same period of 2020.

The Port of Guangzhou has 137 international container line routes, including 114 to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. CHINA DAILY

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has become Guangzhou's largest trading partner, with the foreign trade value hitting 154.97 billion yuan last year, the city government said.

Guangzhou has also held an array of exhibitions, conferences and promotional activities to boost trade with BRI countries and regions.

For example, the annual China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, has become an important platform for the country to display goods and share its huge market with the rest of the world.

Over the past few years, 45 percent of exhibitors at the fair were from BRI countries and regions, said local officials.