· Official visit of the Chinese Prime Minister LI Keqiang, of the French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius and of an important chinese ministerial delegation · Two major economic agreements strengthening the ties between the Group and China were concluded · The CMA CGM ORFEO, vessel symbolizing the franco-chinese commercial relations was decorated in the Chinese colors and berthed in front of the Group’s headquarter
The CMA CGM Group was honored to receive the Chinese Prime Minister, the French Foreign Affairs Minister and a ministerial delegation today The CMA CGM Group, a leading worldwide shipping group, received the Chinese Prime Minister Mr LI Keqiang in its Marseilles headquarters on July 1st. He was accompanied by France Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Laurent Fabius, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade Mr Matthias Fekl and an important Chinese ministerial delegation during this visit. This delegation included the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Yi Wang, the Reform and Development Commission Minister Mr Shaoshi Xu, the Trade Minister Mr Hucheng Gao, the Chinese ambassador in France Mr Jun Zhai, and the Consul General Mrs Jinsong Yu. Two major economic agreements strengthening the ties between the Group and China were concluded During this exceptional visit, two major agreements were signed by Mr Jacques R. Saadé, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Group, Mr Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Vice Chairman, Doctor Hu, Executive Vice President China Merchants Group Limited and Mr Liu Vice Chairman and Chairman of CEXIM: · A partnership between China Merchants (CMHI) and CMA CGM to develop the strategic “One Belt, One Road” project: The « One Belt, One Road » project is a high profile strategy initiated by the Chinese government to develop many infrastructure and ports-related logistics projects. CMA CGM and China Merchants (CMHI) agreed on a common and primary interest. They signed a strategic partnership on July 1st to investigate and evaluate together, as their priority, the investment opportunities. Those opportunities will be part of the maritime dimension of the “One Belt, One Road Project”: the “Maritime Silk Road”. The CMA CGM Group is the first company to sign such an agreement with a Chinese company for this strategic project. · A USD 1 billion financing solutions framework agreement with the Chinese bank CEXIM: CMA CGM and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) signed a framework agreement on financing solutions for a total of up to USD 1 billion in the form of loans and/or export credit insurance. Those solutions would be available for the future vessels and containers the group may order in China. Those investments are essential to accompany the CMA CGM Group’s development strategy The CMA CGM ORFEO, a CMA CGM vessel and symbol of the economic ties between France and China decorated in the Chinese colors, was exceptionally berthing Marseilles During this official visit, the CMA CGM ORFEO, a 10,000 TEUs vessel symbolizing the commercial relations between France and China, was decorated in the Chinese colors and was berthing in front of the Group’s headquarter. « July 1st will be a milestone in our Group’s history. The Chinese Prime Minister’s visit is a great recognition of the unique links our Group has developed with China, a strategic country in the Group’s development history. Those two agreements signature reinforces those links and offer new perspectives. We are proud of the honor and of the confidence that this visit demonstrates”, said Jacques R. Saadé, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Group.