Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 19 April, as part of the visit to Uzbekistan of a delegation led by the head of the Shandong Port Group of the People’s Republic of China, a meeting of business circles of Uzbekistan and China was held in Tashkent, aimed at developing cooperation in the field of transport and logistics.

The event is organized by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Shandong Port Group with the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by the heads of the largest ports in Shandong province, representatives of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the Association of International Road Carriers of Uzbekistan, the Economy Assembly of Uzbekistan, the Tashkent city administration and other organizations.

The Shandong Port Group was established in August 2019 by merging the main ports of Shandong Province: Qingdao, Rizhao, Yantai and the Bohai Bay Port Group. The holding operates in 12 business segments: shipping, trade, logistics, scientific and technical development, equipment manufacturing, overseas development, investment management, port construction, urban and industrial integration, cruises, culture and tourism, vocational education and healthcare.

At the end of 2022, the throughput capacity of the group’s terminals reached 1.6 billion tons of cargo, and container transshipment capacity exceeded 37 million TEU. The company has 21 major port areas, over 360 industrial berths and over 320 container shipping routes. The headquarters is located in Qingdao, the number of employees of the group exceeds 60 thousand people.

During the event, detailed information was provided on the wide opportunities created for entrepreneurial and investment activities in Uzbekistan, reforms to create economic freedom and legal support for entrepreneurship, the tourism potential of our republic and prospects for cooperation with China in the logistics and transport sectors.

Also, presentations and videos about Shandong ports and the investment potential of Uzbekistan were presented to the attention of the forum participants.

In addition, B2B negotiations were also held as part of the business forum program, during which entrepreneurs and investors were able to establish direct ties, find points of intersection of interests and discuss new promising projects in the logistics sector.

It is worth noting that the foreign trade turnover between Uzbekistan and China reached US$4.8 billion in 2017 and US$8.9 billion in 2022, thereby increasing by 185%. In particular, the increase in exports amounted to 23.4%, and imports - 134.7%.