On December 24, 2018, COSCO, Xiamen Port authorities in Fujian, and Fujian Provincial Communication Transportation Group announced the establishment of Fujian Silk Road Shipping Operation Company or Silk Road Maritime. This new company will strengthen Fujian’s leading position in the maritime routes of the “Belt and Road initiative” as envisaged in the original project of the new Silk Roads.
From June 2019, this new company will offer sixteen maritime routes from China, and will work on the creation of multimodal nodes offering connections between sea and rail transportation in Fujian.
The second step, to be performed by the “Silk Road Maritime” from 2020 to 2025, will consist in developing activities abroad by connecting Xiamen this new logistics player at the international level to connect to the largest ports of the Maritime Silk roads, including the many ports in which COSCO has invested.
During this official inauguration, was also discussed the possible creation of a new global alliance of shipping logistics companies. This alliance is expected to facilitate trade between China and the rest of the world, and accelerate the development of the new Silk Roads from Xiamen. About 50 Chinese and foreign companies have already expressed interest in this structure. This new alliance will reduce travel times for companies based in Southwest China and in all BRI regions.
Today, Xiamen is the world’s 14th largest container port (10380 TEUs in 2017), the city is also home to a major air hub for cargo. With the creation of “Silk Road Maritime”, the capital of Fujian will continue to attract foreign investors in the logistics industry.