Recently, a China Europe freight train loaded with mechanical parts and sports equipment slowly departed from Shijiazhuang International Land Port and headed towards the European market. On the same day, at the container terminal in Jingtang Port area of Tangshan Port, giant ships shuttle and cranes take off, and an ocean going cargo ship loaded with Hebei goods is about to set sail. From inland to coastal areas, from land ports to ports, Hebei is integrating into the global market with a more proactive and open attitude. In the first half of the year, the total value of foreign trade imports and exports reached 386.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.2%. ASEAN has risen to become the largest trading partner, and behind the figures is Hebei's accelerated rise to an open economy.

Institutional innovation breaks through the bottleneck of openness

Focusing on breaking through the bottleneck of inland opening up, Xiong'an Pilot Free Trade Zone actively builds a port functional system, with 121 registered enterprises in the comprehensive bonded zone as of the end of June 2026. The North China Sea Going Center has been established in the Zhengding area, building a policy empowerment, resource integration, and full chain service support system for going global, and solving pain points such as the large amount of materials, difficult processes, and long time required for enterprises to go global. Hebei Pilot Free Trade Zone adheres to bold experimentation, daring exploration, and independent reform, and has accumulated eight batches of 154 institutional innovation achievements for replication and promotion throughout the province. Starting from July 1, 2026, the pilot program for high-level opening up of cross-border trade will be expanded to the whole province, with 7 measures to facilitate foreign exchange receipts and payments under current account to reduce the burden and speed up for enterprises. The business processing time will be reduced from days to minutes. High quality enterprises recognized by banks throughout the province can directly handle cross-border settlements with payment instructions, without the need to submit paper documents on a case by case basis.

Land sea linkage for global connectivity

In the first half of 2026, Hebei ports completed a cumulative cargo throughput of 739 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. Hebei Port Group has established a total of 80 inland ports, opened 30 sea rail intermodal routes, and 13 international train routes. The new pattern of opening up, which links land, sea, and domestic areas, and promotes mutual assistance between the east and the west, is accelerating. In the first half of 2026, Shijiazhuang International Land Port will operate 814 China Europe freight trains, a year-on-year increase of 42.06%. It has opened 20 international routes covering more than 50 countries and regions. The weekly schedule train of the land port operates with high quality at fixed points, lines, schedules, and train numbers. It can arrive in Warsaw, Poland in 14 days and 3 hours, and the goods can be quickly distributed to multiple European countries. Around the 107 key characteristic industrial clusters in the province, more than 30 cross-border cargo warehouses have been set up in the land port layout, making it more convenient and efficient for Hebei goods to go abroad. Keywords: strategic news and information, macro, foreign trade

Continuous expansion of foreign trade friend circle

In the first half of 2026, Hebei's import and export to Africa will be 48.43 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 88.3%. Hebei's import and export to countries jointly building the the Belt and Road will account for 65.3% of the province's total foreign trade value. ASEAN has risen to become Hebei's largest trading partner. At the Langfang Economic and Trade Fair in June 2026, representatives from over 100 multinational companies and international organizations collaborated with Hebei enterprises to expand cooperation opportunities. Digital trade has become a new channel for Hebei goods to go global, and Qinghe Zhongli's dedicated vehicles have expanded their overseas markets through TikTok live broadcasts. In the first half of the year, foreign trade sales exceeded 3.5 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50%. Hebei has established trade relations with more than 200 countries and regions, with a total export value of 16.64 billion yuan for electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%. As of the end of June 2026, the total number of foreign trade entities in the province reached 104700.Editor/Gao Xue