Western China News

Images of what appeared to be U.S. warships emerged from China last month, but they were not anywhere near an ocean. In fact, they were thousands of kilometers away, in a desert in western China.Military experts said the mock-ups of U.S. warships were part of a new target range developed by the People’s Liberation Army. The images demonstrate how seriously China is taking the repeated appearances of foreign warships in waters it claims to control – and why this is a worry for the stability of the region.In late November, a U.S.

European ferry operator Stena Line announced that its newest ferry Stena Estrid has departed the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in north-western China, bound for its new home on the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland.Manned by a much-reduced crew of 27, with no passengers on board, the ship will travel on a journey of well over 10,000 miles, taking just over one month and making a number of stops on the way.Stena Estrid is the first of five next generation Stena Line RoPax vessels to be completed at the shipyard and is now en route to Wales from where it will start service in January on the Holyhead to Dublin route.The first stage of the voyage is a week-long 2…

Stena Line took ownership of its newest ferry Stena Estrid following a handover ceremony at the AVIC Weihai Shipyard in north-western China. Stena Estrid is the first of five next generation Stena Line RoPax vessels that are currently being constructed. Stena Estrid will now embark on a six-week journey to its new home on the Irish Sea, where it will begin service on the Dublin to Holyhead route in January 2020.A further two of the new ferries are also destined for the Irish Sea with Stena Edda expected to commence operations from Belfast to Liverpool next spring…

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) and COSCO Shipping  'Hainan-ASEAN (Singapore)' Liner Route, co-hosted by Hainan Provincial People’s Government and COSCO Shipping, was launched at Hainan Yangpu Xiaochantan Terminal owned by Hainan Harbor & Shipping Holding.Hainan Governor Shen Xiaoming announced the launch of the maiden voyage.The “Hainan-ASEAN (Singapore)” Liner Route opens a direct passage through which goods from China’s western regions can be shipped southward to Singapore via Yangpu Port, as well as a new channel for transferring cargo from China’s coastal ports to Southeast Asia via Yangpu.It declares that Yangpu Port in Hainan has turned to a new pivot of ILSTC and marks that ILSTC…

Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports has purchased a 4.34% stake in Shenzhen-listed Beibu Gulf Port Co for a total consideration of approximately RMB 470 million (USD 68 mln)."By subscribing the shares, Cosco Shipping Ports aim to further strengthen the cooperation with Beibu Gulf Port, and lay a foundation for the Company to participate in the integration of Guangxi ports. At present, Cosco Shipping Ports teams up with Beibu Gulf Port in operating Qinzhou International Container Terminal Co., Ltd," said a press release from the port company.Beibu Gulf being the gateway of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC, formerly known as China-Singapore Southern Transport Corridor)…

Delfin Midstream, developing the first floating facility to export U.S. natural gas, has sealed a preliminary 15-year sales deal with city gas distributor China Gas Holdings, Delfin founder and Chief Executive Officer Frederick Jones said. But industry veteran Jones told Reuters in an interview that Delfin is also tapping unnamed Chinese banks to fund its ambitious $8 billion as the current global supply overhang in liquefied natural gas (LNG), with bumper exports also expected from Australia and Qatar, makes Delfin’s target of a final investment decision (FID) in 2018 challenging.

Ocean carrier Pacific International Lines (PIL), terminal operator PSA International and IBM plan to utilize blockchain for better security, efficiency and transparency in supply chain business networks and trade finance. Three companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to explore and trial proof of concept (POC) blockchain-based supply chain business network innovations. The MOU was signed by Ms Lisa Teo, Executive Director (Corporate Development) of PIL; Mr Oh Bee Lock, Head of Group Technology, PSA; and Ms Janet Ang, VP Industry Solutions & Smarter Cities of IBM Asia Pacific. The three parties will work together to explore POCs using technologies like blockchain to achieve better security…

China has taken a major step towards establishing a speedy new "Silk Road" to Europe by signing up to a U.N. trucking treaty. Fifteen years after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), China is hoping a revival of its ancient trading corridor to the west will help boost its slowing economy. Becoming a member of TIR, an international guarantee scheme that will enable Chinese freight containers to travel all the way to Ireland without being opened up for time-consuming customs checks, is a first step towards putting the legal framework of the plan into action. "It's a key element ...for the Chinese government... If you had to stop a container at every border from China to Europe it would add substantial costs," said Christian Friis Bach, executive secretary of the U.N.

PSA International (PSA) established itself as the first and only Global Terminal Operator in the Guangxi-Beibu Gulf region by signing a Joint Venture Agreement with Beibu Gulf Port Group (BPG) and Pacific International Lines (PIL) to operate a new container terminal in Qinzhou City (Guangxi Province, China) - BEIBU GULF-PSA International Container Terminal Co., Ltd (BPCT). The joint venture terminal is PSA’s first foray in the South-Western China region – one of the fastest growing economic regions in China. Accessible to Southeast Asia by land and sea, the region has been earmarked by the Chinese government as a key area for coastal development and collaboration with ASEAN countries.

China is expected to sign 30 cooperative agreements worth $10 billion with Kazakhstan as Premier Li Keqiang begins his first official visit to the country, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday. Xinhua did not give details, but quoted Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping as highlighting a joint-venture logistics base and urging interconnectivity with highways, railways, ports, air routes, oil and gas pipelines. "The Sino-Kazakh cooperation is developing rapidly. The volume of trade between the two countries is increasing annually by 20 percent," Xinhua quoted Li as saying in an article. Kazakhstan has become China's second largest trade partner in the Commonwealth of the Independent States…

LYG-PSA Container Terminal (LPCT) was officially opened today by Lianyungang Municipal Party Committee Member & Director-General of Lianyungang Port Authority Mr Wu Yi Qiao, Lianyungang Port Group (LPG) Chairman Mr Bai Li Qun and PSA International Group CEO Mr Tan Chong Meng. LPCT marks PSA International’s first collaboration with Lianyungang Port Group. The opening ceremony, which took place at the Jiangsu Haizhou Bay View Hotel in Lianyungang, China, was witnessed by over 200 distinguished guests from the ports and shipping industry and government agencies in Lianyungang. Mr Wu Yi Qiao, Lianyungang Municipal Party Committee Member & Director-General of Lianyungang Port Authority, commented, “The partnership between LPG and PSA brings in unprecedented potential for development.

Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global container shipping, terminals and logistics group, announced that it will establish an administration and service centre in Chongqing Municipality, western China, as part of its ongoing efforts to increase efficiencies and further develop its operational excellence. The new Chongqing centre will provide key support processes for customs compliance, bill of lading production and invoicing for APL, the Group’s container shipping business. It will support APL backroom operations across Greater China, Japan, Korea and the Americas. During 2010 activities currently delivered from the company’s Regional Administration Centre in Shanghai will be progressively migrated to Chongqing.