Aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2022 shows cargo ships docking at the Rizhao Port in Rizhao, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

Shandong Port Group Co., Ltd. (SPG), one of China's leading port operators, on Monday set up its first overseas regional company in Singapore, aiming to strengthen cooperation with world-leading shipping companies and trade enterprises, reported Chinanews.com.

The new company will serve as a platform for SPG's overseas networking, cross-border logistics and e-commerce, investment attraction, cultural and tourism exchanges. Built with port, logistics, financial, trade and seas transport resources, it is expected to help ports in Shandong transform from traditional loading-uploading ports to pivotal shipping hubs that keep trade moving and provide financial services.

Singapore is one of the most important financial, trade, sea transport and regional shipping centers in Asia. It is also a partner of China in advancing the the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Establishing the subsidiary in the country is expected to promote trade and speed up SPG's development to become an international shipping service provider in Northeast Asia, said Huo Gaoyuan, chairman of SPG.

Since its foundation in 2019, SPG has operated 327 container routes and 82 sea-rail combined transport routes, reaching 100-odd countries and regions.

SPG's cargo throughput in 2022 exceeded 1.6 billion tonnes, ranking No. 1 in the world. Its container volumes hit 37 million TEUs, ranking the third globally.