Mr Zheng Zhijie, President China Development Bank (left) and Mr Joachim Coens, President Port Authority of Zeebrugge (right)

The Port of Zeebrugge is joining forces with the China Development Bank and launching the ‘China Europe Railway’ with Changjiu Logistics Group.

On June 2nd, the Port of Zeebrugge signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Development Bank and with Changjiu Logistics Group. Mr Joachim Coens, CEO of the Zeebrugge port authority, signed the agreements in Brussels. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

Port of Zeebrugge and China Development Bank intend to combine the market advantage of the Port Authority of Zeebrugge and financial strength of the China Development Bank by building a new strategy partnership. Based on the MoU, China Development Bank will provide financial support to the Chinese export companies who intend to establish their European cargo consolidation center in the Port of Zeebrugge. China Development Bank will also provide financial support to the “Silk Road Platform Zeebrugge” project which has been jointly launched by the Port Authority of Zeebrugge, China COSCO Shipping Corporation and China Minmetals Corporation in October 2016. This agreement will promote the trade and cargo flows between China and Europe via Zeebrugge.

The port authority also signed an agreement with Changjiu Logistics Group for the launch of the China-Europe Railway “Heilongjiang-Zeebrugge”. The frequency of the train is 4-6 services per week, up to 300 services per year. Each train will be loaded with 225 Volvo cars. The transit time is less than 20 days. 24,000 new Volvo cars with a total value of €600 million will be transported to and distributed from the Port of Zeebrugge on a yearly basis.