Russia and China explore new alliance in strategic maritime sector

Russia and China are exploring new areas of cooperation in maritime transport, shipbuilding and port infrastructure during an official visit to China by Nikolai Patrushev, an adviser to the Russian president and head of Russia’s Maritime Board.

On October 8 and 9, Patrushev led a Russian delegation on visits to the Waigaoqiao shipyard, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai and its surroundings.

At Waigaoqiao, one of China’s major shipyards, discussions focused on strengthening ties between Russian and Chinese shipbuilding companies and exchanging engineering expertise. At Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the delegation discussed cooperation with Russian universities and research institutes to train maritime and shipbuilding specialists and conduct joint scientific research.

At Yangshan Port, Patrushev discussed expanding direct and multimodal maritime transport between the two countries and improving logistics links between their ports. He also proposed joint investment projects to develop infrastructure at Russian ports, drawing on Yangshan’s development over 15 years.

Patrushev described the exchange of technologies for automating container terminals as a promising area of cooperation, citing Yangshan’s experience operating one of the world’s largest automated terminals.