Page 12 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 02.19

■ HAMBURG AND CHINA
Hamburg – Gateway to China
China is the Port of Hamburg’s largest trading partner. For Chinese goods, the Hanseatic City is seen as China’s Gateway to Europe. Yet Hamburg not only aims to retain its lead in sea trade, but is also positioning itself as a significant rail hub for China services.
In 2018 alone, Germany’s largest seaport handled around 2.6 million standard containers – (TEU) in Chi- na trade. Almost one-third of all containers passing through the Port of Hamburg have China as their des- tination or origin. Around a dozen liner services link Hamburg with Chinese ports. The ships on these an- nually shift cargo weighing a total of around 24 million tons. Not just for Germany, but also for Austria, Po- land, Czechia, Russia, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzer- land, making the Port of Hamburg the central hub for China services.
Along with the sea route, since 2013 the ‘New Silk Road’ has developed as a rail link. ‘A path takes shape once you use it’ runs a Chinese proverb. The New Silk Road rail route from China to Europe has emerged within just a few years.
Hamburg is playing a significant part in this develop- ment and aims to position itself even more strongly as a rail hub for China services in the future too. That the Hanseatic City is the Gateway to Europe for the
People’s Republic’s sea trade is no novelty. As Eu- rope’s No. 1 rail port backed by extensive China ex- pertise, it is only logical that Hamburg should also play a key part in the New Silk Road. Through port twinnings, the Port of Hamburg is also closely allied with Shanghai and Shenzhen.
CHINA INVESTS IN THE ‘ONE BELT – ONE ROAD’ PROJECT
China commenced the expansion of train services and the rail network between the Far East and West- ern Europe in 2013, when President Xi Jinping pre- sented the ‘One Belt – One Road’ project. The Chi- nese are pursuing ambitious plans. In 2014, slightly fewer than 800 trains with a freight volume of 25,000 TEU ran along the New Silk Road between China and Western Europe. 2016 brought an in- crease to 1,700 trains, with a container volume of 145,000 TEU. By 2027, 670,000 TEU are expected on the Eurasian rail corridors.
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CHINA IS INVESTING IN THE NEW SILK ROAD AS A RAIL LINK TO EUROPE
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