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HOME > News in Pictures
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang Attends DKT Allseas China Xpress One-Year Anniversary Celebration Ceremony and Visits Liverpool Port
2022-04-29 21:00

On 26 April, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang attended and delivered a speech at a ceremony held at the Port of Liverpool, celebrating the one-year anniversary of the China Xpress -- direct shipping route between Shanghai and Liverpool. Claudio Veritiero, Chief Executive of Peel Ports who is responsible for the operation and management of the Port of Liverpool, Darren Wright, Managing Director at DKT Allseas, operator of China Xpress, and Paul Kallee-Grover, Chairman of the Liverpool China Partnership, delivered speeches respectively. Chinese and British guests from all walks of life attended the event, including Zheng Xiyuan, Chinese Consul-General in Manchester, and Councillor Clare Louise Carragher, Mayor of Sefton where the Port of Liverpool is located.

In his speech, Ambassador Zheng congratulated on the one-year anniversary of China Xpress and expressed thanks to all those, from  both China and the UK, who have supported the healthy development of China-UK relations. He mentioned that, in just one year, this new shipping route between Liverpool and Shanghai has developed from a short-term temporary arrangement to a long-term fixed shipping route. The fast growth fits the needs of trade between China and the UK against the pandemic and proves the potential and resilience of trade between the two countries. Liverpool has had historically strong ties with China in shipping and trade. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's economy and the establishment of the sister-city relationship between Shanghai and Liverpool, Liverpool and China have become increasingly close in exchange and cooperation in trade, investment, culture, education, and sports. As a significant maritime centre, Liverpool is playing an ever more prominent role in promoting China-UK trade.

Ambassador Zheng shared with audience China’s key results in coordinating pandemic prevention and control with economic and social development, emphasizing that the fundamentals of China’s economy, with strong resilience, huge potential and long-term growth, will not change. China is confident that through hard work, it will achieve its economic and social development goals this year and bring more positive energy to the world.

Ambassador Zheng pointed out that, over the past five decades since the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the UK, bilateral trade in goods between the two sides has increased from a little over 300 million US dollars to over 110 billion US dollars in 2021. China has been the UK’s largest source of imported goods for seven quarters in a row. The win-win nature of China-UK business cooperation remains unchanged. Especially in recent years, products from China that are good value for money have supported the UK in fighting the pandemic and curbing the pressure of rising prices; while famous-brand products from the UK meet the diverse needs of China's huge consumer market. He emphasized that China stands ready to share opportunities, pursue common development and work together with Liverpool to promote the sound and steady progress in China-UK relations.

In his speech, Mr.Veritiero noted that Chinese cargo through the Port of Liverpool has more than doubled in the past five years, with the total value reaching 1 billion US dollars by 2021. The Port of Liverpool has witnessed the rapid growth of UK-China trade in goods and has benefited tremendously from the opportunities this provides. Peel Ports Group is accelerating the development of a smart port and is willing to expand mutually beneficial cooperation with China. Mr. Wright gave a briefing on the sound operation of China Xpress over the past year, saying that the direct shipping has significantly shortened the journey from Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen and other Chinese ports to Liverpool, which gives the DKT Allseas the advantage of speed and punctuality in international shipping industry. Mr. Kallee-Grover said since its establishment in 2015, the Liverpool China Partnership has been active in strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation between Liverpool and Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, and the results have been positive. Liverpool and China share a broad prospect of cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, maritime transport as well as education and tourism, and such cooperation is in the interest of both sides and widely supported by the public.

Ambassador Zheng also gave interviews to Chinese and foreign media on the side of the event and visited the facilities at the Port of Liverpool.

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According to DKT Allseas, as a direct sea route between Shanghai and Liverpool, China Xpress was launched in April 2021 with the main purposes of mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the global supply chain and guaranteeing supply of goods from China to the UK. Since its launch, cargo ships from Chinese ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo can travel non-stop to Liverpool, which has significantly reduced transit times. Over the past year, the operation of China Xpress has exceeded expectation and grown from a temporary arrangement to a long-term fixed shipping route. The success of the China Xpress demonstrates the resilience and vitality of the China-UK economic and trade relationship, which has broad prospects for development.

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