On 31 May 2022, CULINES and Antong Holdings held an online ceremony and signed a Framework Agreement on Strategic Cooperation, aiming to further promote the dual circulation development pattern, enhance the long-term cooperation on European and Transpacific services, and integrate the shipping of domestic and foreign trades.

Wei Wang (Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Antong) and Raymond Chen (Chairman & CEO of CULINES) delivered speeches. Jianqiang Lou (Director & CEO of Antong) and Kevin Ding (EVP of CULINES) signed the agreement on behalf of each party.

Jizhong Yuan (VP of Antong), Xiaofeng Ai (CFO of Antong), Xing Rong (VP & Board Secretary), Yan Zhang (GM of International Department of Antong), Hawk Huang (VP & COO of CULINES), Michael Zhao (GM of Ocean Line Division and Operation Department of CULINES), Robin Wang (GM of Finance of CULINES), Vincent Hu (Deputy Director of President Office of CULINES) attended the ceremony.

In 2021, against the backdrop of national policies on dual circulation and the stability and security in key areas, in an innovative cooperation pattern, CULINES launched and operated European and Transpacific services with the pooled resources of the two parties. The cooperation not only made great economic and social benefits, but also promoted the development of China’s foreign trade and enhanced China’s independence of supply chain.

26 April 2021 Maiden call at PSA869 of Asia-Europe service in Antwerp, Belgium

This extended 3-year strategic cooperation will further integrate domestic and international shipping networks in the context of dual circulation development pattern and unleash greater potential for future cooperation and development. As the No.4 and No.5 container liners in terms of capacity based in Chinese mainland, CULINES and Antong will leverage respective strengths in domestic and international trades to build up an integrated shipping network and a mutually beneficial cooperation mechanism. Also, the cooperation will increase the resilience to industrial cycles and business risks of both parties in the post-pandemic era and set an example of close partnership between China-based shipping companies. Going forward, CULINES will continue to be responsible for the overall operation of the cooperated European and Transpacific services. With secured and competitive capacity supply of this long-term cooperation, the ocean-going services will be progressively upgraded to meet increasing customer demands, improve customer experience, and create more values for customers.

06 May 2022 Maiden voyage of the upgraded South China-USWC TPC service. Departure from YICT, Yantian for TraPac, Los Angeles

Based on the confirmed long-term cooperation agreement, CULINES has successfully upgraded the South China-USWC TPC service, which features security in terms of fleet, schedule, berthing window, rotation, and customer base with long-term contracts. With the support of partners such as YICT and TraPac, CULINES is confident to reduce uncertainties of the supply chain in the Transpacific market as much as possible and develop TPC into a reliable premium service, providing an alternative for foreign-trade and e-commerce customers.

In Europe, with regular callings at base ports and Southampton and a partner carrier joined, the bi-weekly AEX service is running well. Thanks to the flexibility of the fleet, this service has maintained an excellent record in berthing and turnover and won market recognition, becoming a valuable supplement to the mainstream Asia-Europe services.

Moreover, both parties will actively explore more cooperation opportunities on coordinated development and strategic investment in shipping logistics and other areas.

Antong Holdings

-        One of the top three domestic-trade container liners in China

-        Major shareholders: China Merchants Port Holdings, AVIC Trust, SASAC of Quanzhou

-        Listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange

-        Domestic-trade throughput mainly in 80 main ports in China

-        As of 30 May 2022:

-        94 offices covering 130 ports in China with 56 domestic services

-        According to Alphaliner, 84 vessels under operation with a total capacity of 90,424TEU; No.21 globally and No.4 among Chinese mainland-based liners

China United Lines

CULINES is a fast-growing international shipping company based in China. The company has submitted the IPO prospectus to Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2022. As of 16 May 2022, CULINES operates 55 foreign-trade services in Intra-Asia, Europe, Transpacific, Indian Subcontinent, and Middle East markets covering 60 terminals in 26 countries and regions. According to Alphaliner, as of 20 May 2022, CULINES operates 29 vessels with a total capacity of 76,860TEU and ranks No.24 globally and No.5 among Chinese mainland-based liners. Recently, the first CULINES newbuilding CUL NANSHA was named and delivered in Nansha. Another two second-hand vessels will be delivered later this year, and at least nine newbuilding will be delivered one after another. The structure and the scale of the fleet will thus be further optimized in a rapid fashion.