A grand ceremony was held on Thursday to open a new shipping route of HMW, one of world's largest multi-modal transport companies. The route will link Tianjin with Europe and slash time and costs significantly. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Twelve vessels from HMW Copenhagen, each loaded with 24,000 twenty-foot equivalents unit containers of cargo, berthed in Tianjin Port on Thursday.

Their presence marked the opening of a new shipping route for HMW, one of world's largest multi-modal transport companies, linking Tianjin to Europe.

The vessels will go to Algebras, Spain; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; and Antwerp, Belgium.

Li Zhuming, president of HMM (China) Co, said, "The Chinese economy boosts the confidence of global companies. The new route reflects multinational companies' trust in Tianjin Port's efficiency and service standards."

He indicated that the new route could speed the pace of furniture, machinery and auto parts products made in China that are heading to Europe, slashing shipping time by 15 percent, along with shipping costs.

During the first two months of this year, Tianjin Port's export and import value hit 309.2 billion yuan ($44.9 billion), up 19.1 percent year-on-year.

Among the country's top 10 ports, Tianjin Port's export and import growth rate was No 1 in China, during the period.

The high growth rate is due to the fact that Tianjin Customs has streamlined its services related to Tianjin Port, and the port has utilized leading technologies — including 5G, the Beidou Navigation Satellite system and artificial intelligence technologies — to upgrade its port services in a bid to boost trade along Belt and Road Initiative routes.