Port of Qingdao establishes friendly port relationship with Port of Antwerp

　　Recently, Port of Qingdao inked a cooperation agreement with Port of Antwerp from Belgium to officially establish friendly port relationship.

　　The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port of Antwerp enjoys a more central location in Europe than the majority of North Sea ports. Antwerp's docks are connected to the hinterland by rail, waterway and road. As a result the port of Antwerp has become one of Europe's largest sea ports, ranking second behind Rotterdam by total freight shipped. In April, 2014, the Port of Antwerp and the Port of Qingdao inked a letter of intent to establish friendly port relationship.

　　In accordance with the agreement, the two ports will carry out strategic cooperation in port development & construction, operation administration, modern logistics, multimodal transport, cruise business, green low carbon port, and expertise & staff training; and the Port of Qingdao and the Port of Antwerp will also strengthen the exchanges of real-time international shipping information and provide to each other support and assistance in business activities.