A container ship sets sail at Xiamen Port. [Photo by Zhang Qihui/For China Daily]
Xiamen Port recently added a new shipping route named after the Silk Road Maritime, China's first Belt and Road international comprehensive logistics service platform focusing on shipping.
The new route, which is operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, links China with Southeast Asia, with Xiamen Port, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, the Singapore Port in Singapore, the Laem Chabang Port in Thailand, and the Vung Tau Port in Vietnam as berthing ports.
The new route was released at the 2021 Silk Road Maritime Annual Meeting that was held in Xiamen, Fujian province on Dec 20.
To date, the total number of routes that are named after Silk Road Maritime is 86, and Xiamen Port has 57 Silk Road Maritime routes. The Silk Road Maritime routes link 102 ports in 29 countries and have registered a total of 6,856 voyages and achieved 7.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units of container throughput by the end of November this year.
Statistics indicate that from January to November this year, the container throughput at Xiamen Port exceeded 11 million TEUs.
Xiamen Port will give full play of the Maritime Silk Road to bolster its efforts to boost high-quality development of the port and shipping industry, said officials from the Xiamen Port Holding Group Co.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
