The signing ceremony for the "Shenzhen Port International Green Shipping Corridor Cooperation Initiative" - between Yantian International Container Terminals and the Port of Felixstowe - was held in Shenzhen on 23 September.
The signing ceremony for the "Shenzhen Port International Green Shipping Corridor Cooperation Initiative" - between Yantian International Container Terminals and the Port of Felixstowe - was held in Shenzhen on 23 September.
The event was attended and witnessed by Jia Liwei, Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau; Huang Huaishen, Second-Level Inspector of the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration; and Zhong Yubin, General Manager of the Port and Shipping Division of Shenzhen Port Group. Guo Jing, Director of the Yantian Maritime Safety Administration; Zheng Zhenkun, Executive Director of CK Hutchison Ports, Managing Director for Europe, and CEO of CK Hutchison Ports UK and Felixstowe; and Cen Qicheng, Managing Director of Yantian International Container Terminals, also attended the ceremony and delivered remarks.
At the event, Lin Guanhao, Chief Commercial Officer of Yantian International, and Simon Mullett, Chief Financial Officer of the Port of Felixstowe, formally signed the cooperation initiative on behalf of their respective organisations. The signing marks a significant expansion of Shenzhen Port's green shipping cooperation network into a core European hub, injecting fresh Asia-Europe collaborative momentum into the global maritime industry's low-carbon transition. Both parties affirmed their commitment to using this agreement as a new starting point for sustained, institutionalised exchange and cooperation, working together to explore innovative pathways for port green transformation and low-carbon development across global supply chains.
The signing took place just one day after the close of the Global Sustainable Transport Summit (2026). Convened on 22 September in Beijing, the summit saw the formal establishment of the International Green Shipping Corridor Alliance as a landmark outcome. The Alliance's founding membership comprises 45 leading enterprises from 12 countries, with Yantian International among them. From the Beijing summit to the Shenzhen signing, Yantian International has translated the new international green shipping agenda into concrete, practical cooperation.
In July of this year, at the 2026 Shenzhen Port International Supply Chain High-Quality Development Conference, Yantian International signed the "APEC Economies Port Friendly Cooperation Agreement" with 16 ports from 10 APEC economies, and co-initiated the "Shenzhen Port International Green Shipping Corridor Cooperation Initiative" alongside the Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau, the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration, Shenzhen Port Group, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The strategic cooperation now reached with Felixstowe - one of Europe's premier hub ports - represents a pivotal milestone in Yantian International's advancement from Asia-Pacific regional connectivity toward a truly global footprint, extending Shenzhen's green shipping cooperation network from the Asia-Pacific into Europe.
Anchored by the two ports' long-established shipping routes and mature operational frameworks, Yantian International will continue to leverage its position as an international port hub to deepen China-Europe practical cooperation across green and low-carbon development, smart port construction, and sustainable supply chain advancement - steadily expanding the global green shipping network centred on Shenzhen Port.
Guo Jing, Director of the Yantian Maritime Safety Administration, noted that the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration has provided comprehensive support in building the Yantian-Felixstowe green shipping corridor, encompassing the strengthening of marine clean fuel bunkering capabilities, the advancement of LNG regular bunkering and green methanol demonstration bunkering operations, and the development of corridor evaluation standards. With two mature, high-capacity hub ports at its core and a high-volume, stable Asia-Europe trunk route as its carrier, the corridor is advancing from paper consensus to commercial practice - and is positioned to become a new conduit for the deepening of Sino-British economic and trade cooperation in the green arena.
Cen Qicheng, Managing Director of Yantian International, noted that he had just returned from Beijing, where he attended the inaugural General Assembly of the International Green Shipping Corridor Alliance, and expressed a keen awareness of the responsibilities that Yantian International carries as a founding member. The Alliance was established to advance sustainable development in shipping, implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. The signing, he affirmed, represents a practical measure in advancing the coordinated development of the international green shipping corridor and deepening multilateral cooperation.
Zheng Zhenkun, Executive Director of CK Hutchison Ports, stated that the signing elevates the level of cooperation between the two ports, marking a formal transition from traditional route interconnectivity to a new phase of green collaboration, shared standard-setting, and jointly governed outcomes.
Yantian International and the Port of Felixstowe are both major nodes in the global supply chain, each with a long-standing commitment to green port development and closely aligned low-carbon philosophies. As the core gateway for South China's international trade, Yantian International has advanced comprehensive shore power coverage, equipment electrification, clean energy substitution, and smart port upgrades. Over the past decade, carbon emissions per TEU have decreased by 32% even as throughput has grown steadily - achieving growth without a corresponding increase in carbon output. Shore power now covers 100% of the port area, and the deployment of clean fuels including LNG and green methanol continues to expand. The Port of Felixstowe, the United Kingdom's largest and busiest container hub, handles close to 40% of the country's container trade and has set a clear target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, advancing equipment electrification, renewable energy adoption, and the deployment of intelligent transport systems.
Looking ahead, the two ports will engage in comprehensive, multi-dimensional cooperation to standardise emissions reduction pathways, enable trackable progress on decarbonisation, and ensure verifiable outcomes - mobilising governments and supply chain partners across China and the United Kingdom to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through concrete action, and establishing a benchmark Asia-Europe green shipping corridor with global demonstrative significance.
This year marks APEC's "China Year." Yantian International has added 11 new routes connecting APEC economies in 2026 alone, and currently operates over 100 global shipping routes per week, of which 53 serve APEC member economies. Cen Qicheng affirmed that Yantian International remains committed to its founding mission of "starting from Yantian, partnering with Shenzhen and Hong Kong, serving the nation, and connecting the world." Aligning closely with the core themes of openness, innovation, and cooperation that define China's APEC year, and leveraging the International Green Shipping Corridor Alliance as an international collaborative platform, Yantian International will continue to unite global customers and partners in building a global industrial and supply chain system that is more efficient, smarter, greener, and more resilient - working collectively to transform the "supply chain" into a "shared-gain chain."
