On Tuesday, officials with the Port of Los Angeles said they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Port of Guangzhou, China to further their relationship and cooperation.
The MOU outlined areas of collaboration, officials said, including the development of digital supply chain infrastructure, the creation of a Trans-Pacific Green Shipping Corridor between the two ports and other sustainability initiatives designed to reduce port-related emissions and greenhouse gases.
“We are grateful to the Port of Guangzhou for their commitment to work with us on these important maritime initiatives,” said Port Executive Director Gene Seroka. “The agreement signed today further reinforces our long-term relationship and like-minded pursuit of excellence in all aspects of port operations and signifies an important step toward decarbonizing the supply chain.”
Officials said the MOU represents a continuation of the relationship between the two ports which dates back nearly 40 years to 1984 when they two ports signed their first “Friendship Port” agreement.
“We have long valued our relationship with the Port of Los Angeles and welcome this opportunity to build upon our bilateral cooperation,” said Mr. Xiuqing Sun, Director General of the Guangzhou Port Authority. “By continuing to share best practices and information, our ports will be better positioned to improve operational efficiencies and reduce harmful emissions related to those operations.”
The three-year MOU calls for best practice consultations, exchanging ideas on supply chain efficiency and digital technology and sharing lessons learned while using Port Optimizer technology. Additionally, the two ports will begin work on a Green Shipping Corridor to reduce emissions.