The World Logistics Passport (WLP) has entered the Chinese market for the first time, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Fujian Port Group.
Under the signing of this MoU, the state-owned Fujian Port Group will join the freight loyalty program as a partner. In turn, WLP will provide Chinese businesses with faster and more cost-efficient access to markets in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and across Africa.
Freight forwarders are said to achieve an annual increase in trade by 5%-10% on average.
WLP has also agreed to join the Chinese Silk Road Maritime Alliance (SRMA). This alliance comprises of 99 ports and 27 countries and is part of an initiative from China aiming to build an efficient and stable service ecosystem of continued growth by integrating advantageous resources.
Overall, the addition of China in the WLP strengthens the programme’s position across Asia with hubs in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Bringing the WLP to the world’s second-largest economy is a huge development. Efficient supply chains make products and services more competitive and selling to more markets increases economic resilience. The WLP helps deliver this, whilst also strengthening bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United Arab Emirates,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Freezone Corporation (PCFC), which runs the WLP globally.
Mr Zhiping Chen, Secretary of Party Committee and Chairman for the Fujian Port Group, added “The benefit of the WLP, as the world’s first multi-modal global freight loyalty scheme, to business in China is a reduction in their supply chain costs, and making moving goods and services faster and more efficient. This news will help our country grow the economy and create new jobs.”
The MoU was signed virtually on 7 December 2021 during both the Fujian Business Roadshow in China and Expo 2020 in Dubai, UEA.
It was previously announced that Uzbekistan also joined the World Logistics Passport as a gateway in an effort to improve trade across Asia.
Announced in August 2021, Uzbekistan will be able to access the benefits from WLP when trading via the UAE, where it joins a network of hubs and many other gateways that span Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.