Lufthansa Cargo intensifies strategically important partnerships in China
China´s rapid growth has transformed it into a global economic powerhouse and is now one of the most important growth markets in the airfreight industry. With production hubs specializing in high tech-commodities, the country has enormous potential for the airfreight sector.
The booming Chinese e-commerce sector and the increasing importance of cross-border trade from China provide additional growth opportunities in the airfreight industry. Against this backdrop, Lufthansa Cargo is intensifying key strategic partnerships in China: Ashwin Bhat, CEO Lufthansa Cargo, signed cooperation agreements with Shanghai Airport Authorities, Air China Cargo and China Postal Express & Logistics Co., Ltd during his recent trip.
Shanghai Airport Authority and Lufthansa Cargo intensify cooperation: Joint MoU signed / Municipal Government of Shanghai supports Lufthansa Cargo’s plans in Shanghai
Shanghai Airport Authority and Lufthansa Cargo have taken a significant step towards strengthening their partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU aims to establish a framework to further develop cooperation in focused areas, enhancing operational efficiencies, and improving customer experiences through innovative solutions and shared expertise. It also recognizes the strategic goal of jointly developing Shanghai Pudong Airport into the world’s most competitive Asia-Pacific core hub and actively exploring ways to deepen the partnership.
“The last 25 years of partnership through our joint venture have yielded excellent results for both parties. The MOU marks the beginning of our cooperation journey, and we look forward to even closer collaboration in the years ahead”, commented Feng Xin, CEO of Shanghai Airport Authority. Both – the Shanghai Airport Authority and Lufthansa Cargo – are committed to leveraging their strengths and resources to drive the success of this partnership and achieve their shared objectives. “The MOU represents a significant milestone in our collaboration and sets the stage for a deeper and more fruitful partnership in the future.” said Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “Shanghai is the biggest freight hub for Lufthansa Cargo next to our hub in Frankfurt and the MOU gives us the confidence and commitment to further contribute to business excellence in this strategically important market.”
The Shanghai Municipal Government supports Lufthansa Cargo
Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo also met Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan together with delegation of Lufthansa Cargo to report on the industry status and strategic direction of Lufthansa Cargo in Shanghai and China. They discussed the sustainability and digital development of the aviation logistics, the development of cross-border e-commerce and the strengthening of further cooperation with local enterprises. During the meeting, the Shanghai government expressed very positive and supportive signals for the cooperation with Lufthansa Cargo.
“Shanghai actively develops the sector of aviation logistics and attaches great importance to the development of cross-border e-commerce business. The Shanghai Municipal Government is willing to work together to promote Lufthansa Cargo’s deeper participation in the development of Shanghai, including closer cooperation between the Company and the Airports Group, facilitating cooperation among the enterprises and top e-commerce platforms, and jointly boosting the digital integration of China and Germany’s customs”, commented Vice Mayor Hua Yuan. “Lufthansa Cargo is encouraged to further increase investment and business layout in Shanghai, deepen transformation and cooperation with Chinese related enterprises in the fields of aviation digitization, intelligence and greening, and make contributions to promoting the development of Shanghai’s overseas logistics transportation and promoting Sino-German economic and trade exchanges.”
Lufthansa Cargo entered the Chinese market in the late 1990s and opened a freight service connecting Shanghai and Frankfurt in 1997. Since then, it has successively opened multiple cargo flight points in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei. In 2024 it has added one new route to Frankfurt from Zhengzhou and Shenzhen respectively.
Over the years, Lufthansa Cargo’s contribution to Shanghai’s economy mainly reflects in providing professional and extensive air cargo services, including but not limited to the transportation of hazardous cargo, complete vehicles, refrigerated containers, precision instruments and other commodities. For automotive parts and high-tech products, Lufthansa Cargo provides advanced digital tools, selects optimized routes, and customizes personalized solutions subject to demand to ensure fast and reliable delivery of goods.
In 1999, Lufthansa Cargo established a joint venture with Shanghai Airport Group, known as Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Co., Ltd. (PACTL). During the last 25 years, PACTL has provided services including warehousing, customs clearance, consolidation, loading and unloading services covering the entire logistics chain. PACTL’s cumulative cargo disposal tonnage in 2023 was approximately 1.6 million tons.
Original article
Image source: lufthansa-cargo.com