Yiwu, a county-level city in East China's Zhejiang province, hosted a conference on building the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan corridor on Nov 23.

According to the conference, the Zhejiang provincial government will step up its efforts to build the corridor and invest more than 100 billion yuan ($15.64 billion) in around 100 related projects each year.

The corridor is expected to benefit from the ongoing construction of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, two national-level development strategies rolled out in the corridor's surrounding regions.

Yiwu is often dubbed "the world's supermarket" as it is home to the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities. The market has established business ties with 2 million small and medium-sized companies in China as well as 233 countries and regions. The market rakes in around 500 billion yuan ($78.2 billion) in annual sales.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has led the world in annual cargo throughput for 12 years in a row. Roughly one seventh of global exported containers come from Yiwu.

The link between Yiwu and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has been becoming stronger and stronger in recent years, with the former setting the goal of becoming the "Sixth Harbor District" of the latter.

On Nov 24, Orient Overseas (International) Limited, the shipping company that runs the Orient Overseas Container Line, launched sea-rail transport between Yiwu and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, following in the footsteps of CMA CGM Group and China COSCO Shipping Corporation.

More than 117,000 TEUs of cargo have been shipped via sea-rail transportation between Yiwu and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port so far this year, up 92 percent year-on-year. Around 20 freight train trips take place every week.

Frieight trucks leave the Yiwu Port for Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]