Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of Cold-Chain Logistics in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (2023–2027)
In accordance with the work arrangements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Party Committee and Government of the Autonomous Region regarding the high-quality development of the modern logistics industry, and to further enhance the capacity of cold chain logistics to serve the construction of the Pilot Zone for Ecological Conservation and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin, this plan is formulated in light of the actual conditions of our region.
I. General Requirements
(1) Guiding Principles
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches during his inspection of Ningxia, and earnestly carry out the decisions and arrangements of the 13th Party Congress of the Autonomous Region. With the fundamental objective of promoting the development of key and distinctive agricultural industries and meeting the people’s growing needs for a better life, we will focus on building a full-process cold chain system for Ningxia’s distinctive and advantageous industries,we adhere to the principles of “moderately forward-looking planning, leading enterprise-driven development, and development leadership.” By coordinating relevant central government funds, the Autonomous Region’s special funds for modern logistics development, and special funds from various cities, counties (districts), we will promote the green, intelligent, integrated, intensive, and standardized development of cold chain logistics.
(2) Development Goals
By 2027, we aim to have preliminarily established a cold chain logistics network that links production and sales, covers both urban and rural areas, and connects with the domestic market. This network will be fully integrated into the national backbone cold chain logistics corridors, with the goal of establishing one national backbone cold chain logistics base.The scale of the industry will continue to expand, with total cold chain logistics revenue reaching 3.5 billion yuan, cold storage capacity exceeding 1.8 million cubic meters, the fleet of refrigerated vehicles exceeding 1,500 units, and the number of commercial cold chain logistics enterprises exceeding 150. We will cultivate 5 three-star and 2 four-star cold chain logistics enterprises.The quality of industrial development will be significantly improved. Cold chain logistics will be deeply integrated with the “Six Specialty” industries and the food and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. A standardized system will be preliminarily established, and equipment and technological levels will be substantially enhanced. A modern cold chain logistics system characterized by standardized norms, efficient operations, safety and environmental sustainability, and robust support will be fundamentally established.
II. Key Tasks
(I) Improving the Cold Chain Logistics Network System
1. Strive to establish a National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Base. Support Yinchuan City’s application to establish a National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Base and actively integrate with the “Four Horizontal, Four Vertical” national backbone cold chain logistics corridors. For newly selected National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Bases, a one-time reward of 2 million yuan will be granted to the implementing entity. Seize the opportunity presented by Yinchuan City’s development as a national logistics hub for commerce and services to build the Northwest Beef and Mutton Cold Chain Distribution and Trading Center.Strengthen interconnectivity between cold chain bases and logistics nodes such as cold chain logistics parks, agricultural wholesale and retail markets, and production-sales distribution centers to promote the optimized aggregation of resources. Support the expansion of cold chain storage capacity for meat, fruits and vegetables, aquatic products, dairy products, frozen foods, and pharmaceuticals; optimize reserve structures; and enhance the capacity for both daily consumption of fresh food and emergency supply guarantees. (Responsible Units: Yinchuan Municipal People’s Government; Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs)
2. Establish Cold Chain Distribution Centers at Production Sites. Promote the integrated development of cold chain logistics and the “Six Specialty” industries. Focus on addressing shortcomings in cold chain infrastructure at the “first mile” of production sites, and encourage the construction of on-site storage and preservation facilities as well as cold chain distribution centers based on actual needs.Encourage the development of new types of cold storage facilities, such as automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), multi-story warehouses, controlled-atmosphere storage, quick-freezing facilities, low-temperature processing warehouses, and mobile cold storage units. Support enterprises in applying new cold chain technologies such as pressure-differential pre-cooling, controlled-atmosphere preservation, and liquid nitrogen quick-freezing. Promote the socialization and sharing of cold storage operations to improve utilization rates during off-peak seasons.Support the construction of high-standard cold storage facilities with a single-unit capacity of 5,000 cubic meters or more and strong regional influence. For projects with fixed-asset investments in cold storage of 20 million yuan or more (excluding land acquisition costs), subsidies will be provided at a rate not exceeding 20% of the total cold storage investment, with a cap of 5 million yuan per project. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at the prefectural level; the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Department of Commerce, Department of Finance, and Supply and Marketing Cooperatives of the Autonomous Region)
3. Accelerate the expansion and upgrading of cold chain facilities. Improve supporting transportation infrastructure at cold chain logistics nodes to enhance the efficiency of connections between trunk and feeder routes. Promote the upgrading and expansion of distribution-type cold storage facilities, strengthen environmental, health, and safety oversight of cold storage facilities, and encourage the construction of green, low-carbon, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly cold storage facilities.Improve the mechanization, automation, and intelligence levels of cold storage facilities; promote the use of new supporting equipment such as standardized pallets, electric forklifts, high-rise racking, dense racking, and enclosed loading docks; and encourage the development of smart cold storage facilities. Encourage the construction of supporting cold chain logistics projects such as ultra-low-temperature rapid freezing, ice-making, and packaging materials. Projects with a single investment of 5 million yuan or more will receive a one-time subsidy of 500,000 yuan.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at all levels; the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and Supply and Marketing Cooperatives of the Autonomous Region)
(2) Promoting the Efficient Development of Cold Chain Transportation
4. Continuously Enhance Cold Chain Transportation Capacity.Strengthen cooperation with major sales regions for “Six Specialty” products, such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Yangtze River Delta; establish connections with Chongqing, Chengdu, and Xi’an; integrate into the New Western Land-Sea Corridor; and support enterprises in improving dedicated cold chain routes from Yinchuan to key cities such as Beijing, Qingdao, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, and Kunming. Develop transportation models such as cold chain drop-and-hook and less-than-truckload (LTL) services to enhance trunk line transport capacity for cool-season vegetables, beef, and mutton.Encourage enterprises to purchase new large-capacity refrigerated trucks and promote the use of green, low-carbon, and new-energy transport vehicles; phase out equipment that violates national mandatory standards or causes severe environmental pollution in accordance with the law. Enterprises making a single purchase of standard cold-chain vehicles and standard refrigerated containers totaling 5 million yuan or more will be granted subsidies at a rate not exceeding 20% of the investment amount, with a cap of 2 million yuan per project. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and Department of Finance of the Autonomous Region)
5. Develop cold chain multimodal transport. Relying on national logistics hubs focused on commerce and trade services, encourage the construction of regional cold chain warehousing and distribution centers.Explore the launch of domestic cold chain freight trains and coordinate the advancement of cold chain road-rail intermodal transport. Promote the construction of aviation cold chain infrastructure at Yinchuan Hedong Airport, Zhongwei Shapotou Airport, and Guyuan Liupanshan Airport to attract cold chain resources from neighboring regions to our autonomous region, thereby building a multi-dimensional cold chain logistics network. (Responsible entities: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce of the Autonomous Region)
(3) Enhancing the Efficiency of Commercial Cold Chain Services
6. Improve the cold chain distribution system. Strengthen the three-tier logistics distribution system at the county, township, and village levels; develop joint urban-rural cold chain distribution; encourage alliance-based operations; and support the joint construction, sharing, and co-use of cold chain distribution points. Promote the construction of cold chain logistics facilities for storage and preservation at agricultural product origins across entire counties; support enterprises in purchasing new energy refrigerated vans; advance energy conservation and consumption reduction in cold chain distribution; develop multi-temperature joint distribution and palletized transport; and improve the utilization rate of refrigerated delivery vehicles.Support express logistics enterprises in providing cold chain delivery services, promote the extension of cold chain delivery into factories and villages, and achieve the integrated development of cold chain logistics and rural e-commerce. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at all levels; the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Rural Revitalization, and Ningxia Postal Administration of the Autonomous Region)
7. Develop new business formats and models in the cold chain sector. Encourage the development of new business formats and models such as cold chain forward warehouses, “new retail + cold chain logistics,” “fresh food e-commerce + cold chain home delivery,” “central kitchens + cold chain ingredient distribution,” and cold chain cloud warehouses. Support enterprises in conducting agricultural product warehousing and preservation operations to extend the storage life of agricultural products, facilitate off-season marketing of agricultural products, regulate market supply and demand, ensure the needs of the people are met, and enhance product value.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at all levels; Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Autonomous Region)
(IV) Implement the Key Enterprise Cultivation Project
8. Cultivate and strengthen cold chain operators. Adhere to the principle of attracting high-quality and strong enterprises, drawing domestic 5-star and top 100 cold chain logistics companies to invest in Ningxia, and providing policy support in areas such as land use and energy consumption. Guide key enterprises to strengthen resource integration and business cooperation through alliances and mergers and acquisitions, promote intensive and scaled operations, and foster comprehensive service-oriented and supply chain-oriented cold chain logistics enterprises. A one-time reward of 200,000 yuan will be granted to newly registered cold chain logistics enterprises that meet the scale criteria.Actively participate in the national star-rating and Top 100 cold chain logistics enterprise evaluations. Provide one-time rewards of 300,000 yuan, 500,000 yuan, and 1 million yuan, respectively, to enterprises newly rated as national 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star cold chain enterprises. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Commerce, Development and Reform Commission, and Department of Finance of the Autonomous Region)
9. Develop socialized cold chain logistics. Encourage the outsourcing of cold chain operations and the development of socialized, specialized third-party cold chain logistics services. Promote key enterprises—such as agricultural product logistics parks, agricultural wholesale markets, large supermarket chains, cold chain processing and warehousing facilities, trunk transportation operators, and urban-rural distribution companies—to leverage their own cold chain resources to expand socialized cold chain services. Support key enterprises in establishing cold chain logistics nodes outside the region to strengthen the industry’s “tiered structure” and enhance their exemplary and leading roles.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities, Department of Commerce of the Autonomous Region)
(5) Accelerating the Innovative Development of Cold Chain Logistics
10. Enhance the digital and intelligent capabilities of cold chain logistics. Fully leverage the role of the Autonomous Region’s public information service platform for cold chain logistics, encourage cold chain logistics enterprises to actively connect to the platform, and strengthen real-time monitoring of cold chain logistics operations. Encourage cold chain transportation and distribution enterprises to adopt vehicle navigation and positioning systems, video surveillance technology, and GIS systems to improve in-transit vehicle monitoring and dispatch management.Encourage cold chain warehousing enterprises to adopt advanced warehouse management systems, build smart cloud warehouses, and support the development of automated cold chain sorting and handling systems. Utilize intelligent sensing, big data analysis, and control and decision-making technologies to improve inventory control and precision management. Promote the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and temperature/humidity monitoring equipment by cold chain enterprises to enhance end-to-end monitoring of the cold chain process, establish a traceability system for food and pharmaceuticals, and strengthen safety supervision of cold chain food and pharmaceuticals.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at the prefectural level; the Department of Commerce, the Department of Market Regulation, and the Drug Administration of the Autonomous Region)
11. Establish a cold chain standardization system. Support industry associations, research institutes, and cold chain enterprises in researching and formulating group standards and local standards for cold chain logistics.Strengthen the promotion and implementation of cold chain standards, encourage enterprises to actively adopt and apply these standards, and promote the integration of standardized management throughout all stages—including pre-cooling, processing, packaging, loading/unloading, warehousing, and transportation—while intensifying oversight of the enforcement of mandatory standards. Promote the use of standardized pallets and配套 packaging, carriers, and shelving, and encourage enterprises to develop in a standardized direction characterized by advanced facilities, strict standards, and standardized operations. (Responsible entities: Municipal governments at the prefectural level; Department of Commerce and Department of Market Regulation of the Autonomous Region)
(6) Establish a Comprehensive Cold Chain Service System
12. Improve the meat cold chain processing system. Support Yuanzhou District, Jingyuan County, Haiyuan County, Yanchi County, and Litong District in establishing cold chain processing clusters for beef cattle and Tan sheep. Encourage key livestock breeding enterprises to build large-scale low-temperature processing facilities, and guide small-scale producers and cooperatives to consolidate around cold chain processing centers, thereby steadily increasing the scale of low-temperature meat processing.Encourage beef and mutton production and processing enterprises, sales and distribution enterprises, logistics and supply chain enterprises, and e-commerce enterprises to engage in full-container load cold-chain trunk transportation of beef and mutton, build cold storage facilities in sales destinations, store during off-peak seasons and sell during peak seasons, and establish a meat supply chain system featuring “centralized slaughter, brand-oriented operations, cold-chain distribution, and chilled market release.” Encourage eligible cities, counties (districts) to provide appropriate financial support. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Department of Commerce of the Autonomous Region)
13. Improve the cold chain preservation standards for fruits and vegetables. Promote the construction of cold-climate vegetable origin cold chain distribution centers in Helan County, Qingongxia City, Yuanzhou District, and other areas. Encourage the establishment of origin cold chain distribution centers for specialty fruits and vegetables such as Zhongning goji berries, Shapotou apples, Hongsibao daylilies, Lingwu long jujubes, and Pengyang red plum apricots to enhance post-harvest pre-cooling and preservation standards.Support enterprises in using standardized logistics containers such as reusable fruit and vegetable crates to reduce distribution losses and establish a cross-regional, cross-seasonal supply system. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Autonomous Region; Department of Commerce)
14. Promote the application of aquatic product preservation technologies. Support Helan County and counties and districts along the Yellow River in improving cold chain infrastructure suitable for the aquaculture industry. Guide aquatic product farming and processing enterprises to build supporting cold chain facilities and introduce cold chain technologies such as quick-freezing, low-temperature preservation, and waterless live-preservation to enhance the scale and quality of fresh aquatic product supply in our region.Support the construction of cold chain facilities—including rapid freezing, refrigeration, and low-temperature holding—in cold chain logistics parks and agricultural wholesale and retail markets, and develop chilled seafood storage and cold chain processing operations. (Responsible entities: Municipal governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Supply and Marketing Cooperatives of the Autonomous Region)
15. Improve the dairy product cold chain logistics system. Support the construction of milk cold storage facilities in concentrated dairy farming areas and large-scale farms, such as the National Agricultural Science and Technology Park in Wuzhong City and key dairy enterprises within the region, to optimize short-distance cold chain transportation of fresh milk and regulate market supply.Construct cold-chain distribution centers for low-temperature liquid milk, and develop cold-chain operations for the deep processing of dairy products such as cheese, milk foam, light cream, butter, and ice cream. Strengthen temperature and quality monitoring in dairy product distribution and establish an end-to-end cold-chain system. (Responsible entities: Municipal governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Department of Commerce of the Autonomous Region)
16. Develop cold chain processing for frozen foods. Targeting major food ingredient consumers such as chain restaurants and large dining establishments, develop cold chain processing operations for frozen foods, pre-washed vegetables, and prepared meals to enhance the safety, standardization, and scale of ingredient supply. Encourage Guyuan City to build supporting cold chain facilities for specialty foods such as frozen French fries, improve quality control capabilities for frozen foods, and establish an integrated cold chain logistics system encompassing raw material procurement, production and processing, freshness preservation and packaging, and transportation and distribution.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Autonomous Region)
17. Enhance pharmaceutical cold chain logistics capabilities. Support enterprises within the region that specialize in authentic traditional Chinese medicinal materials in constructing ventilated storage facilities and cold storage warehouses to improve the cold chain system for medicinal materials. Encourage key pharmaceutical distribution enterprises in Yinchuan City to establish shared cold chain distribution centers for pharmaceuticals, upgrade cold chain facilities and equipment at medical service points, and build a socialized pharmaceutical cold chain logistics system.Promote pharmaceutical cold chain logistics standards, strengthen supervision over the enforcement of mandatory standards, accelerate the widespread adoption of smart equipment such as intelligent temperature-controlled boxes, vehicle tracking systems, and temperature-controlled recorders, and establish a platform for end-to-end visual supervision and traceability of pharmaceutical products throughout the cold chain.Promote the construction of automated pharmaceutical warehouses to enhance emergency response capabilities for the cold chain logistics of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices. For pharmaceutical cold chain logistics projects with investments of 10 million yuan or more, provide subsidies of up to 20% of the investment amount, with a maximum of 3 million yuan per project. (Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments of all prefecture-level cities; Autonomous Region Health Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of Finance, and Drug Administration)
(7) Strengthen Full-Chain Supervision of Cold Chain Logistics
18. Innovate regulatory approaches to strengthen full-chain supervision. Guide enterprises to enhance the application of food quality monitoring, intelligent temperature and humidity sensing, and satellite positioning technologies in cold chain logistics to establish a smart monitoring system, enabling real-time monitoring and dynamic updates of data across all stages. Strengthen interdepartmental communication and coordination, intensify supervision and inspection efforts, regulate the business operations of market entities in accordance with the law, implement full-chain cold chain requirements, and ensure the “unbroken chain” of cold chain throughout production, distribution, and consumption.(Responsible Units: Municipal People’s Governments at the prefectural level; Department of Commerce and Department of Market Regulation of the Autonomous Region)
III. Support Measures
(1) Strengthen Policy Support and Guidance. Enhance government guidance and support to optimize the development environment for cold chain logistics. Ensure that eligible cold storage facilities receive preferential urban land use tax policies in accordance with regulations. Encourage localities to introduce policies facilitating the passage of cold chain vehicles based on local conditions. Strengthen safety awareness in cold chain logistics and improve operational safety standards.
(2) Expand Financial Support Channels. Encourage financial institutions to provide loan and financing support for key cold chain logistics projects. Actively explore the use of various models—such as “insurance + movable property pledge + guarantee,” financial leasing, and supply chain finance—to mobilize the existing assets of cold chain enterprises.
(3) Strengthen support through scientific and technological innovation. Guide universities and research institutes to collaborate with cold chain enterprises to jointly tackle key cold chain technologies. Provide support for the construction of key laboratories at all levels and of various types, and foster technology-driven and innovative cold chain logistics enterprises.
(4) Leverage the Role of Industry Associations. Support logistics industry associations in promoting self-regulation and standardizing industry operations. Relying on industry associations, establish an expert database to facilitate the integration of superior resources from government, industry, academia, and research institutions, thereby providing decision-making consultation, operational monitoring, data statistics, professional training, and R&D services for industry development.
The Office of the Special Task Force for the High-Quality Development of the Modern Logistics Industry in the Autonomous Region is responsible for overall coordination, guidance, and implementation. All localities and relevant units shall strengthen service support to ensure the full and effective implementation of all policies.
This plan shall take effect on December 15, 2023, and remain valid until December 31, 2027. The Department of Commerce of the Autonomous Region shall be responsible for its specific interpretation.
