Developing backbone circulation corridors for key commodities is a vital part of establishing a smooth and efficient modern circulation system. This initiative facilitates the large-scale, cross-regional movement of essential agricultural products, agricultural supplies, energy resources, and mineral raw materials, thereby maximizing the market connectivity and industrial organization functions of the modern circulation framework.
In recent years, the development of China's circulation system has progressed steadily, with the national backbone circulation network being gradually refined. The construction of several backbone commodity corridors, including those for bulk commodities in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan region, agricultural supplies in the Southwest, and mineral products in the West, has commenced and achieved initial success. These corridors are preliminarily linking circulation hub cities along their routes, creating a "string of pearls" effect.
The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Bulk Commodity Backbone Circulation Corridor leverages east-west railway arteries such as the Wari and Handan-Huanghua lines, connecting cities like Linfen, Taiyuan, Lvliang, Changzhi, Jining, Linyi, Rizhao, and Anyang. It has become a crucial passageway for the "West-to-East Coal Transport" and "Inbound Ore Inland Distribution" initiatives. The construction plan for this corridor was officially released in September 2025, aiming to boost regional economic integration through optimized resource allocation, enhanced bulk commodity flow efficiency, and reduced logistics costs. Following this, a notice issued in February 2026 outlined measures to intensify project management from the perspectives of resource guarantees, construction implementation, supervision, and performance evaluation.
The Western Mineral Products Backbone Circulation Corridor is anchored by the main rail lines of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, connecting cities such as Panzhihua, Chongqing, Baoji, Chengdu, Kunming, Leshan, and Neijiang. It serves as a critical channel for the inter-regional circulation of mineral resources in western China. Since its launch, the corridor has seen the addition of several core enterprises in the industrial chain, leading to a clearer division of labor and tighter collaboration between upstream and downstream entities, thereby strengthening strategic resource security. The inclusion of Fangchenggang has completed the corridor's path from the western interior to the sea outlet. Furthermore, the "Titanium Rongyi" platform, the nation's first industrial internet platform offering a full vanadium and titanium industry chain service system, is empowering the integration of logistics, capital, information, and data flows, providing robust support for a stronger industry, smoother channels, and more dynamic data.
The Southwest Agricultural Supplies Backbone Circulation Corridor relies on the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, the Yangtze River Golden Waterway, and other key routes, connecting cities like Luzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, Nanning, Yibin, and Deyang. It establishes a vital pathway for the distribution of fertilizers and other agricultural supplies in southwestern China. In April 2026, the second conference to advance the construction of this corridor was held in Fuling, Chongqing, where an industrial chain advantage map was drawn up, solidifying a working framework of national planning, provincial coordination, and city-level implementation. At present, an agricultural supply distribution network has taken initial shape, covering the five southwestern provinces and radiating into the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, playing a key role in stabilizing supply and prices, ensuring food security, and lowering overall societal logistics costs.
These backbone commodity circulation corridors primarily function to enable the efficient, large-scale, and inter-regional circulation of bulk goods like agricultural products and inputs, energy, and mineral raw materials. They aim to foster a market environment and support service system that suits the characteristics of bulk commodity flow and boosts industrial competitiveness. Alongside modern circulation strategic hub cities and bulk commodity resource allocation hubs, they form the main framework of the "Hub-Corridor-Node" modern circulation network.
Where to begin going forward
The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan calls for leveraging modern circulation strategic hub cities to construct several important commodity backbone circulation corridors. The next steps involve persistent efforts to enhance facility connectivity, align production with sales, and deepen regional division of labor, to evolve the corridors from a "string of pearls" into a "network." This will elevate the efficiency of cross-regional bulk commodity flow and resource allocation, further encouraging coordinated regional development.
First, enhancing infrastructure connectivity. In conjunction with the development of the logistics network, plan and build bulk commodity trading centers and distribution hubs along the corridors. Support qualified regions in establishing international logistics hubs and bulk commodity resource allocation hubs. Accelerate the development of supporting infrastructure, including ports, logistics hubs, and multimodal transport facilities, while promoting the formulation and standardization of rules for the bulk commodity circulation sector.
Second, promoting effective production-sales alignment. Guided by market supply-demand dynamics and industrial chain linkages, facilitate a rational layout for grains, fertilizers, metals, minerals, energy resources, and similar goods along the corridors. This will encourage synergy within related industrial and supply chains, foster collaboration between upstream and downstream enterprises, and amplify the corridors' functions in market linkage and industrial organization.
Third, deepening regional industrial division and collaboration. Given the cross-departmental, cross-regional, and cross-industry nature of corridor construction, consider establishing a coordination meeting system involving all relevant departments. Form an operational alliance overseeing the "production, transportation, storage, sales, and trade" of key commodities, holding regular consultations to resolve major issues and creating a cohesive force behind the construction of the backbone commodity circulation corridor.