This Day, That Year

Item from Feb 10, 1993, in China Daily: Dozens of cars are seen on top of a cargo ship belonging to the Ocean Shipping Companies Group. The ship is returning to a Chinese port with a load of imported cars. The group, China's first ocean shipping syndicate, is expected to meet increasing demand from the nation's foreign trade and the revival of the world economy. With a fleet of more than 600 vessels, the group ranks as one of the largest ocean shipping enter-prises in the world. China's total import and export volume reached $165.63 billion last year, up 22.1 percent over the previous year, and is expected to maintain high-speed growth in the last two years of the nation's eighth Five-Year Plan period (1991-95).

China's major shipping and logistics services provider, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, owns more than 800 commercial cargo vessels with an annual carrying capacity of 400 million metric tons. COSCO shipping lines reach about 1,600 ports in 160 countries and regions across the world. The company plays an important role in boosting the country's imports and exports. China has been the world's top trader in goods since 2013. Its total import and export volume reached more than 26.43 trillion yuan ($4.32 trillion) last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

(China Daily 02/10/2015 page2)