Port of Gdańsk opens trade office in Shanghai

The Port of Gdańsk, on Poland's northern Baltic coast, opened a trade office in Shangahai on Saturday. It is the port's first representation in China and is tasked with strengthening existing partnerships with Chinese companies, among other duties.

"The Port of Gdańsk decided to open its first office in Shanghai because it is not only the biggest city in China but also a world leader among sea ports," the press officer of the Sea Port of Gdańk's management board, Agata Kupracz, explained.

She added that the trade office had come into being through cooperation with the Polish Trade and Investment Agency (PAIH). The office's opening occured during the CILF 2018 sector fair, where among those taking part in the opening ceremony was Deputy Minister for Maritime Economy and Inland Waterways Grzegorz Witkowski.

The office is tasked with strengthening existing partnerships with Chinese companies, gaining new clients and coordinating cooperation including in the field of investment.

"The Port of Gdańsk is a maritime gateway for Asia to European markets, especially in Central and Eastern Europe," the president of the port's management board, Łukasz Greinke, was quoted in a communique as saying. "Direct, permanent oceanic connections are connected with competitiveness. The Port of Gdańsk is one of the cheapest transport corridors from Asia to Europe on the global scale."

He stressed that contacts between the Gdańsk port and China had been ongoing for several years.

This cooperation with China is already a tradition," Greinke stated. "It's been going on without a break for 15 years. The permanence of relations, including commercial, is an important factor in Chinese culture. Our new office seals mutual trust, and that will certainly enable us first contact with new contractors."