The overseas warehouse of Shandong Port Logistics Company in Djibouti International Free Trade Zone was unveiled in Qingdao and Jinan, two cities in East China's Shandong province, and the Republic of Djibouti in Africa, according to an unveiling ceremony held online on Sept 13.

The overseas warehouse is of great significance for Shandong Port Group (SPG) to further expand its business in Africa and other emerging markets, which is expected to greatly improve SPG's own supply chain and help serve the dual-circulation new development pattern.

Djibouti is located at the intersection of Asia and Africa, which boasts a seaport and an airport, geographical advantages, and is dubbed an "overarching gateway" for African nations. The Djibouti International Free Trade Zone serves as a demonstration project for promoting China-Africa cooperation, which is jointly constructed and operated by China Merchants Group and the Djibouti government.

SPG is the world's largest port conglomerate. In 2021, its cargo throughput topped 1.5 billion metric tons and its container volume surpassed 34 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). As a significant pivot for international trade, SPG has followed the trend of the times, sped up internationalization, and proactively seized new opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative. It is connected to over 180 countries and regions across the world through more than 320 container shipping routes. It has also stepped up efforts to go global by operating overseas terminals, expanding overseas warehouses and promoting emerging businesses, as well as international logistics. It has operated 12 overseas projects spanning across seven countries such as Asia and Africa.

Since the beginning of this year, SPG's two subsidiaries - Shandong Port Logistics Group and Overseas Development Group - have worked together to advance the planning of its commercial vehicle overseas warehouse business, and selected Djibouti to develop its overseas warehouse business. The launch of the overseas warehouse is expected to give full play to Djibouti's convenient collection and distribution network, provide whole-process logistics services for customers from home and abroad, and reduce comprehensive logistics costs for Chinese commercial enterprises.

Moving forward, SPG plans to use the construction of the Djibouti International Free Trade Zone overseas warehouse as a starting point to speed up its pace in extending the planning of overseas warehouse, and provide customized whole-process logistics solutions for its African customers, in a bid to make greater contributions to promoting the high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation.

The overseas warehouse of Shandong Port Logistics Company in Djibouti International Free Trade Zone is unveiled in Qingdao and Jinan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]