Conftrasporto-Confcommercio Forum comments on the increased Chinese presence in Europe

Como, Italy (PortSEurope) October 18, 2017 - The 3rd Conftrasporto International Forum, organized in cooperation with The European House - Ambrosetti, took place October 9-10, 2017, at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, on Lake Como. The Forum has the ambitious goal of analyzing the goods transportation and logistics systems in Italy and abroad, and discussing in a fresh, new way this sector of the economy, which is fundamental for growth. The event looked at China's increasing presence in Italy, and the opportunity the new Silk Road offers the country. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as The Belt and Road, One Belt, One Road (abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road Initiative is a Chinese development strategy and framework that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between China and the rest of Eurasia, which consists of two main components, the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt" (SREB) and oceangoing "Maritime Silk Road" (MSR). The strategy includes acquiring stakes in ports and other transport facilities to improve and speed up the transport of goods between China and Europe. The Silk Road, basically, concerns some of the three mainland shipping routes, 65 countries with two directions (west-east) and five predetermined routes; will link the production centres of southern China with the European markets via railroads through continental Asia and Russia; while maritime transport will mark the arrival of Chinese goods at many Mediterranean ports via the Suez Canal. Therefore, all the ports of the two macro-regions of the Mediterranean (East-West) will be affected, although it is still not known which Italian ports could act as gateways to the European Union. The ports of Trieste, Venice and Genoa could have key roles and the country's port strategy should take this into account. The new port authorities (AdSPs) must implement infrastructure investments and promote new merchandise traffic opportunities in a timely fashion. There must also be an awareness of the new cultural dimension that China is implementing. China, with its merchandising and shipping agents COSCO, China Shipping, China Merchants Group, Shanghai International Port Group, is implementing a strategy of mergers and acquisitions of port and associated infrastructures along the Mediterranean coast with a strong geopolitical motivation. In this perspective, China sees Italy in a favorable geographical position compared to other countries, and believes in the added value of the logistics and port services of Italian ports. Source: Il Nautilus Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2017.

Conftrasporto-Confcommercio Forum comments on the increased Chinese presence in Europe

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Conftrasporto-Confcommercio Forum comments on the increased Chinese presence in Europe

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EU delegation visits Gioia Tauro port to see anti-drug efforts

Table: Russian ports monthly cargo results Oct’23-Oct’24

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Reference: Russian occupation of neighbours’ territory

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