Denmark Hosts 8th China-EU Major Shipping Policy Meeting

On 26-28 September 2011, Denmark hosted the 8th China-EU Implementation meeting.

Present at the meeting were representatives from the Chinese administration, the European Commission, EU member states and industry representatives from the EU and China who discussed issues of shipping policy questions, including the implementation of the shipping policy agreement ensuring free market access for European ships undertaking international shipping in China.

The shipping policy agreement is of great importance to the Danish shipping industry, as China is growing to be the largest market for international shipping. It is therefore of vital importance that dialogue with China is maintained and expanded.

Matters of great importance to the industry and the maritime administrations were discussed. Such matters included the implementation of IMO and ILO (UN maritime and labour organisations, respectively) conventions, including the MLC Convention (Maritime Labour Convention), Ballast Water Management Convention and the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling.

Developments in international shipping and the low freight rates and the need to counter unfair competition were subjects of discussion. The parties concerned agreed to continue joint efforts to combat the deterioration of safety standards for ships and crews, and to continue efforts to combat piracy.

On behalf of member states, the Commission expressed satisfaction with the adoption in the IMO of the amendment to the MARPOL Convention on the reduction of shipping CO2 emissions (EEDI). In addition, the need to continue the work of the IMO to take further steps to reduce international shipping CO2 emissions was underlined. Such steps are to be taken with a view to ensuring that shipping makes a real contribution to solving climate problems.

The Chinese delegation informed partners about Chinese efforts to improve shipping conditions, focusing on multi-modal transportation and the improvement of infrastructure. Such efforts are similar to those undertaken within the EU.

European industry expressed satisfaction with the conditions under which it does business in China. Certain areas in need of added focus were, however, identified. These included, inter alia, the need to secure access to certain large Chinese ports under adverse weather conditions, as well as the need to control containers to ensure that the declared weight corresponds with the actual embarked weight, an issue that poses a serious security and safety problem.

The meeting ended with a joint declaration to serve as a platform for an expansion of the good cooperation between China and EU.

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Source: DMA, September 29, 2011.