Vessels that contain millions of containers with Chinese shoes, clothing, furniture, toys and other products are delivered to the French ports, and then return to China with French wine, liquor and other luxury goods.
The Port Alliance has set up new direct routes with 14 ports in China, where the cities Shanghai and Ningbo are included.
The initiative will require substantial investments as several infrastructure projects must be implemented in order to be able to handle bigger vessels. A number of Chinese investors have expressed an interest in possibly participating in the French projects.
Not only France invests in improving its competitiveness against Asia but also Greece, Hungary and Belgium aim to expand its port capacity for the future trade with Asia.
Cecilia Helland