Barcelona and Shanghai commit to promoting an emissions-neutral maritime corridor

The Port of Barcelona continues to take steps in its strategy towards decarbonization and energy transition. Now, together with a remote ally: the port of Shanghai (China), an infrastructure with which it has signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen maritime connections between both cities. The objective is for these connections to be green, that is, for the entire merchandise journey to be emission-neutral, using vessels propelled by green energy.

This commitment has been made by José Alberto Carbonell, president of the Port of Barcelona, and Sam Liu, vice president of the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), in an agreement signed by both institutions. The Shanghai port infrastructure is the largest container port in the world, being thirteen times larger than that of the Catalan capital, and is one of the pioneers in the implementation of automated processes. Furthermore, China has become the main commercial partner of the Port of Barcelona, being the country of origin for practically 50% of the imports received by the Catalan capital, predominantly electronic devices, machinery, and textiles. In addition, 10% of the products leaving Barcelona are destined for this Asian country.

In addition to strengthening and consolidating existing relations between both infrastructures and cities, the agreement also foresees sharing knowledge and best practices in terms of digitalization, standardization, and decarbonization of maritime transport. Thus, following the example of routes such as Rotterdam and Singapore, where a pilot green corridor is already being implemented, both cities commit to establishing an emission-free route between the start and end points, establishing a planet-friendly route between the East and the Mediterranean.

The announcement took place during Salvador Illa's institutional trip to the Asian country, through which the president of the Generalitat wants to strengthen and expand agreements and synergies between China and Catalonia. A trip that Carbonell also joined to visit and address relations with the port of Shanghai. Illa has emphasized that the implementation of this corridor will be a "gradual and progressive" operation that will not take place "in a week or a month" as it is a complex operation, especially due to the need to find vessels propelled by green energy.

In addition to the emission-free corridor, the agreement also contemplates collaboration between these two ports in areas where both infrastructures are benchmarks, such as cruise passengers, as both move a significant volume of this type of passenger. Illa has highlighted the importance of "not giving up this source of prosperity" but, at the same time, making it compatible with sustainable tourism. To make these multiple purposes a reality, a bilateral working group will be created to define priorities and address specific projects.

Precisely, one of the companies interested in strengthening and consolidating relations between both port institutions is the state-owned automaker Chery. The company, which has been the protagonist of another of the major agreements of Illa's trip to China ---announcing that it will open an R&D center in Cornellà de Llobregat---, uses the port of the Catalan capital to bring almost 80% of its cars to Spain and Portugal.

The President of the Generalitat has also wanted to take advantage of his trip to the great Asian country to offer Catalonia "as the gateway to Europe," as well as "a bridge between Latin America and North Africa," both by sea ---reinforcing connections between both ports with this new agreement--- and through the airport, recalling that the infrastructure will receive an investment of 3.2 billion euros in the coming years. In fact, in September, a new air connection between Shanghai and Barcelona by China Eastern ---an airline that Illa has also visited to explore new avenues of collaboration--- will be inaugurated, with four weekly flights.

Illa has emphasized that Catalonia does not seek "short-term relationships, but rather to create synergies between countries that are lasting, balanced, and beneficial." He stated this at a conference before 160 representatives of Catalan and Spanish companies present in China, as well as Chinese businessmen.