The first Dutchman to see China was Dirck Gerritsz Pomp from Enkhuizen in 1570. All he saw was the port of Canton and the island of Macao, but he was nevertheless overwhelmed. He was especially impressed by the enormous number and variety of ships. Today, almost 500 years later, the container business is thriving at Chinese ports, especially at the port of Shanghai where the growth in container traffic is a mind-boggling 30 percent a year! This is a consequence of rapid economic growth, but also of the global process of containerisation, which is rapidly taking place in China.

Of course, these developments pose challenges to ports. Berths will need to accommodate larger, deep-draught vessels. Logistics innovation will be needed to handle and forward the enormous number of containers that a single ship can deliver, not just at the port terminal itself, but also – and especially – in the hinterland. Given the phenomenal growth figures of cargo throughput, it is only logical that Shanghai is expanding its port capacity, notably for container handling, at the Yangshan islands.

In the Netherlands we have experience in tackling these challenges. The Dutch Rhine corridor and the Port of Rotterdam serve and provide access to the vast hinterland of Western Europe. We have to work hard to maintain the quality of the network of railways, highways and inland waterways. This is the only way to maintain our outstanding international logistics position. Furthermore, the Dutch government has plans for port development similar to that in Shanghai, albeit on a more limited scale. We intend to reclaim land near Rotterdam in order to expand the container port.

I firmly believe we should look into ways of working together on these projects. China and the Netherlands already have a long-standing cooperation in two fields needed to guarantee success in modern port development: we have worked together in the Yangtze River Intermodal Transport Project in the field of logistics innovations and cooperated closely on the Yangtze Estuary Project in the field of dredging.

So I am very pleased the Dutch port development, transport and civil engineering industries have taken the initiative to set up the Sino Netherlands Platform. Dutch dredging, construction and hydraulic engineering companies are constructing ports and opening up waterways to trade and transport all over the world. They are also constantly at work keeping people dry worldwide. Dutch transport and logistics companies are setting global standards and they are willing to share their expertise with you.