Global shipping company APL and its parent company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) today welcomed the signing of a new bilateral maritime agreement between the United States and China.

“We welcome this agreement, and congratulate the US and Chinese governments on a historic agreement that will improve market access and facilitate trade between the two countries,” NOL Group President and Chief Executive, David Lim, said of the signing of the wide-ranging agreement by US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and China’s Minister of Communications Zhang Chunxian in Washington D.C. today.

Mr Lim said the agreement was expected to foster new opportunities and enhance growth in the Trans-Pacific trade between the US and China, where APL is a major service provider.

“The agreement marks a new milestone in co-operation between the two countries,” Mr Lim said. “We believe that equal access to market opportunities and the freedom to conduct operations without artificial restrictions can only serve to enhance the trade between the US and China and further develop mutual understanding of the benefits that this trade can confer on both countries.”

APL CEO Ron Widdows said, “This will give further impetus to an economic partnership in what is already one of the world’s fastest-growing and most important maritime trades. We also expect to see some specific benefits for foreign liner companies operating in China, with more opportunities for direct participation in operations and a better ability to manage costs,” he said.

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About NOL

NOL is a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses. Its container transportation arm, APL, provides customers around the world with container transportation services that combine high quality inter-modal operations with state-of-the-art information technology while APL Logistics provides end-to-end supply chain management services through its global network.