Guangzhou Port seeks increased international relationships

Guangzhou Port, the main seaport in the capital of Guangdong province, plans to expand its "international friends circle" and seeks greater multilateral cooperation with other international ports.

Nansha port area of Guangzhou port. 

Located in the Pearl River Delta region, it is an important hub for domestic and international transport and maritime logistics, and had formed sister-port relationships with 38 cities by 2016.

The number is expected to grow to 43 by the end of 2017, according to Yuan Yue, deputy director-general of Guangzhou Port Authority.

"Having more friends helps to develop port business, while greater communication brings more diverse opportunities. After forming a sister-port relationship with Thailand's Laem Chabang Port, the Thai port authority invited Chinese professionals to provide training to their staff. We have also established a training company in Guangzhou along with Belgium's Port of Antwerp, one of the most advanced ports in the world, to provide high-quality training to Chinese and overseas professionals," Yuan said.

Guangzhou's international maritime trade activities date back 2,000 years, and it is the only Chinese port that has never been shut to international trade.

Nansha port area of Guangzhou port.

Guangzhou Port formed its first sister-port relationship in 1982 with the Port of Baltimore in the United States. By 2015, Guangzhou had established 21 sister-port relationships, with that number nearly doubling in the past two years, and it has also opened liaison offices in the US and Europe.

"We plan to propose an 'international harbor city alliance', aimed at sharing development opportunities with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative," Yuan said, adding that companies have benefited from the expansion of its "international friends circle".

Guangzhou Port formed a sister-port relationship with Turkey's Port of Izmir in 2016.

"With Nansha Port Area (which belongs to Guangzhou Port) opening a direct maritime route with Turkey, it now takes less than a month to export products there, halving transport costs. It saves transport time, which means lower cost and higher operational efficiency, allowing Chinese products to be more competitive in the international market," said Charles Zhao, general manager of the emerging market division at Homa Appliance Co, a local manufacturer of refrigerators and freezers.

Nansha port area of Guangzhou port. 

In 2016, Homa exported 5.42 million fridges, ranking top of China's refrigerator exports for the eighth consecutive year.

"Ninety percent of Homa's products are exported from Nansha Port Area, and are shipped to more than 100 countries and regions, so the port is crucial for our company," Zhao said.

Guangzhou Port is one of the busiest seaports in the world. In 2016, the port processed 544 million metric tons of cargo and 18.86 million containers, ranking sixth and seventh in the world respectively. 

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