Rodolphe Saadé, Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Group, has received this Tuesday, July 4, 2017, Yong YING, Mayor of Shanghai, who is on an official visit to Marseille for the signature of the 30 years of twinning between the two cities.
On this occasion, the Mayor of Shanghai and Rodolphe Saadé looked back on the history of the remarkable relationship between China and CMA CGM since 1992. CMA CGM is the only company he will visit during his trip in France.
Rodolphe Saadé said: "Since our establishment in Shanghai in 1992, we have built a strong and long-term relationship, with respect and trust, a relationship that is bound to continue."
Yong YING stated: There is a fruitful cooperation between Shanghai and CMA CGM. The CMA CGM Group has demonstrated strong skills that are useful for the Port of Shanghai."
Given its close relations with China and the city of Shanghai, CMA CGM was keen to invite several business leaders to strengthen their ties with this country, which offers enormous potential development.
Convinced of China's future role in the global economy, Jacques Saadé, founder of the Group, opened an initial agency in Shanghai. John Wang, a professor of maritime law, was then recruited to establish the network of agencies and the commercial development.
This fruitful relationship has made it possible to build the Group's aura in China and earned it the nickname "Da fei" which means "The one who goes ahead".
In 1992, the vessel was capable of transporting 250 containers, calling China every 15 days. Today there are calls in China every 3 hours, with the capacity to transport up to 18,000 containers.
CMA CGM in China today is positioned as one of the leaders in the Asian market and remains "very competitive in the port, maritime and logistics sectors" according to Yong YING.
The visit of the Mayor of Shanghai follows the last visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang in July 2015. It confirms CMA CGM's position in China and its recognition by one of the world's leading economies as one of the flowers of French industry.