China Shipping, French firm in joint venture

SHANGHAI: China Shipping Co, one of the nation’s three major container carriers, sighed an agreement yesterday with France’s CMA CGM to put 50 container ships in operation to expand shipping services from Europe to Asia, said China Shipping President Li Kelin. Local industry insiders said the agreement can be seen as an attempt by China Shipping to better position itself when China, barring unforeseen circumstances, enters the World Trade Organization (WTO), exposing Chinese firms to fierce foreign competition. “We are going faster than other companies in co-operating with foreign counterparts,” Li said. Li believes trade by sea will surge after China enters the WTO, and that sea trade will rely heavily on containers. Presently, 95 per cent of the nation’s trade is shipped by sea. China Shipping, with a fleet of 91 container ships, offers more than 40 services. Under the agreement, Li said, both firms will expand business on the services bound from Europe for the Far East beginning on March 1 by offering the shipping capacity of 139,000 containers that stop at 28 ports in the Far East, the Mediterranean sea and Europe. “The co-operation is important for the two groups to widen the world shipping market,” said Tristan Vieljeux, president of CMA CGM. He said the agreement has laid a foundation for further cooperation on shipping services for the United States and other parts of the world.