The world’s largest port and Europe’s second-largest port have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) following a Belgian trade mission to Shanghai, on 13 October.
The MoU aims to strengthen collaboration between the ports of Shanghai and Antwerp through sharing information, running joint promotions and establishing training courses for maritime staff.
The ports have worked closely together since 1985, with 240 Chinese port professionals and more than 3,800 Chinese specialists trained by the Antwerp Port Authority’s training branch, APEC, according to the Port of Antwerp. In 2008, the port of Antwerp appointed a permanent representative, Jan van der Borght, to raise Antwerp’s profile in China, resulting in the Belgian representative receiving the Magnolia Award for his efforts to build the port of Shanghai's international reputation and aid economic development.
Shanghai port signed a similar agreement with the port of Los Angeles in July, aiming to increase collaboration through an ecopartnership.
As the worlds busiest port, Shanghai had a throughput of 26.45m TEU in the first nine months of 2014, up 5.1 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Seatrade Global.
