Chinese-Polish shipping company adapts to a modern future

President Xi Jinping's forthcoming visit to Poland is expected to bring more business opportunities to the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, known as Chipolbrok, the first ever Sino-foreign joint-venture founded in 1951.

Radoslaw Chmielinski, Shipping Directors of Chipolbrok Gdynia says, this visit demonstrates that "Poland remains an interesting and strategic partner to China as the growing and dynamic economy in European Union which has developed very much in the last decades."

Chipolbrok, with head office in Shanghai and European base at Gdynia, was originally incorporated as a result of an agreement between the governments of China and Poland, and it has been often hailed as a flagship example of the mutually beneficial co-operation between both parties.

Assigned to provide the sea transportation link between Chinese and Polish ports for carriage of investment goods and other commodities, Chipolbrok has voyaged through different, sometimes tough political and economic times.

At the moment, the company owns and operates 19 vessels with total dead weight tonnage of over 520, 000. Two brand-new vessels, built in Shanghai Shipyard, are expected to become operational at the end of this year.

Chmielinski says globalization enforces new ideas and concepts but also means that returning to some good examples of commercial cooperation from the past can have new meaning nowadays.

He believes that China's New Silk Road policy would underline China's position and importance in present world where commercial connections are making strong ties between different countries.

"We, as the shipping line, can only support such initiative as presently the world needs great ideas showing new possibilities of cooperation and Chipolbrok is happy that this new energy comes from China," he says.

Poland nowadays is one of the leaders of growth in Europe and, as a large EU member state, actively advocates strengthening contacts and dialogue with China. Poland also coordinates the relations in the investment field within the "16+1" program of cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and China.

"Chipolbrok is the clear evidence that our cooperation, established 65 years ago is still working and this is the best example to other companies that mutually beneficial

cooperation with China for long time is possible, and can be the basis of successful growth," Chmielinski says.