Hutchison Ports Yantian has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on APEC Sister Port Cooperation with 16 ports from 10 APEC member economies, alongside launching a green shipping corridor initiative aimed at accelerating maritime decarbonisation.

The MoU, signed on July 9 at the Shenzhen Port Global Supply Chain High-Quality Development Conference 2026, involves ports from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The participating ports will collaborate on smart port development, green port technologies, trade facilitation and maritime workforce development.

Yantian also launched the Shenzhen Port International Green Shipping Corridor Cooperation Initiative together with Shenzhen Port Group, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, a joint effort to advance sustainable supply chains.

The Shenzhen Transportation Bureau and Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration also took part in the launch.

The conference drew close to 900 attendees, including Chinese government officials, consul-generals from APEC member economies, shipping lines, port operators, third-party logistics providers, cargo owners and industry associations. It was held in support of APEC China 2026 and coincided with the 22nd Maritime Day of China on July 11.

Separately, Hutchison Ports signed MOUs with Midea Group and TCL Industries to develop supply chain arrangements supporting the two electronics companies' global expansion, with Yantian positioned as a strategic anchor point for the partnerships.

Eric Ip, group managing director of Hutchison Ports and Chairman of YANTIAN, pointed to the terminal's role in the company's history in the region. "As early as 1993, we began investing and developing in Yantian Port. YANTIAN has also become an important talent incubation base for Hutchison Ports, providing the necessary talent pool for our international expansion growth. Asia-Pacific region is one of Hutchison Ports' core strategic markets. Today, the Group operates in 22 ports across 9 APEC member economies," Ip said.

Lawrence Shum, managing director of YANTIAN, cited the terminal's service network in support of APEC trade.

"YANTIAN has a dense network of services, with 100 weekly services reaching numerous global destinations, including 53 weekly sailings to APEC economies, offering robust logistics support for APEC trade growth," Shum said.

Yantian is one of the world's largest container terminals, operating 20 deep-water container berths and a natural channel nearly 18 metres deep and 475 metres wide — one that stays ice-free and silt-free year-round, allowing 200,000-tonne vessels to navigate in both directions around the clock.

The terminal handles more than a quarter of China's exports to the United States and a third of Guangdong province's foreign trade volume, running 100 weekly services including 53 weekly sailings to APEC economies.