The Influencing Factors of Xi'an Inland Port Development and Their Action Mechanism from the Strategic Perspective

With the purpose of guiding Xi’an inland port from the strategy perspective, this paper uses SWOT analysis to determine the key factors both from internal and external situation. Then the quantitative analysis by expert scoring and AHP is carried out to calculate the strength and strategic azimuth. The results show that Xi’an inland port should take advantage of the opportunities completely to perform more positive strategies. In particular, it should build up strategic alliance at first, and construct port-vicinity industrial zone and information system. Lastly, intermodal transportation should get promoted. These countermeasures will improve the service level of Xi’an inland port. Introduction Normally, as the central and western regions don’t have the same convenient conditions as the eastern coastal areas do, the economic development of these regions is in an unbalanced state for a long time wherever in China or the whole world. The traffic convenience index has the most important impact on the economic difference. Transportation network is an essential instrument for economic development [1]. So, if the central and western regions lack convenient international transportation channels. The differences in international logistics channels lead to long transportation times and high product transportation costs, which directly lead to lack of competitiveness in product exports. Under the background, the international inland port is developed to be an extension of the seaport function in the inland area [2,3]. The inland port is generally located at the convergence of inland urban railway and highway to facilitate the loading, unloading and storage of the cargo. It is constructed in accordance with the relating international transport regulations, treaties and practices [4]. Inland port can also be taken as the branch port in the inland economic center city of the coastal port. Apart from that, it is a modern logistics operation platform, providing convenient and efficient international port services for the economic development of the inland areas. It has prominent role in strengthening the accessibility of the hinterland of the port, alleviating port congestion and strengthening cross-border trade [5]. Xi’an International Inland Port is the first one in China. Its exploration and practice provide a model for the development of an open economy in the inland areas. So, as the pioneer of the inland port, how to better carry out the country’s open strategy and play a part in new Eurasian Continental Bridge is an important issue for it. On the other hand, with the development of a wide variety of inland ports created across the country, challenges and other problems has emerged. Xi’an inland port has to counter these problems and find more effective and efficient way to play its role on regional and global economy. The remainder of this paper is organized as the followings. SWOT model as an useful tool are introduced to analyze the influencing factors of Xi’an inland port. On the basis of method, the SWOT matrix is present to analyze the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat faced by Xi’an inland port. With the purpose of complete and objective evaluation of Xi’an inland port, the weights of each factor are quantified. Four-dimensional coordinate methods are proposed to determine the strategic type of Xi’an inland port. Finally, the strategic measures for its future direction are put forward.