Senior executives of SPG and Maersk explore doing more business together in a recent video conference. [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]

Shandong Port Group or SPG – one of the biggest port operators in the world, based in Qingdao city in East China's Shandong province – is moving to increase its business with one of the biggest container and freight shipping groups in the world.

SPG held a video conference on May 18 with top executives at the head office of Maersk – the massive Danish container shipping line – to discuss and exchange ideas on expanding business together, according to local media reports.

SPG and Maersk have enjoyed a strategic partnership since 2019, which reached a new level the following year when the Danish group opened a new direct cold chain route to Qingdao port for cold chain shipments. Qingdao Port upped its game, reducing the waiting time of Maersk's ships by 4.18 percent, compared with 2019 through measures such as docking and third-party nucleic acid testing.

During the video conference, the two sides explored doing more business in the future, discussing  such things as the expansion of land-sea logistics links.

Tim Smith, head of Asian region for Maersk and Wu Binqing, president of Maersk Greater China, as well as other senior executives, participated in the video call, which looked at more joint logistics operations and increasing their regional shipping business.