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Building
A Bridge Across The Pacific |
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On
the morning of April 18, 1979 the cargo ship M.V. LIULINHAI
steamed slowly into the Port of Seattle, escorted by tugboats
and a fireboat shooting plumes of water into the air. The
bulk carrier, part of the fleet of the China Ocean Shipping
Company (COSCO), pulled up gently alongside Terminal 91 to the
strains of "It's a Small World After All, " and a Chinese song
played by the U.S. Navy Band. For the first time in 30
years, a ship flying the red and gold flag of the People's
Republic of China had visited an American Port
The
crewmen who secured the line were, in fact, tying together much
more than a ship and a dock. The berthing of the M.V.
LIULINHAI symbolized a new era of trade between the United
States and China. Over the years, that trade has brought
new prosperity and opportunity to both countries. |
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The History of COSCO
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COSCO
first entered
the world shipping market in 1961. From a small carrier
with four vessels in its early years, it has grown into one of
the world's leading international shipping companies with 600
merchant vessels of various kinds with a total annual capacity
of over 100 million tons. With Beijing as its home base,
COSCO has established a transnational operational network that
encompasses Asia, America, Europe, Australia and Africa, and
delivers services to more than 1,200 ports in 150 countries and
regions. Only about half the trade COSCO serves is
directly to or from China; the rest is between other
countries, underscoring the global nature of its business.
Everyday, COSCO ships are arriving at major ports worldwide.
Beyond
COSCO's success at expansion is the triumph of its philosophy of
quality. In the 1980's COSCO adopted a strategy which
emphasized "service, safety, high quality, low cost, efficiency
and convenience," with a goal of becoming a world-class shipping
enterprise by the year 2000. Through hard work,
implementation of international management standards and
continuous modernization, COSCO has achieved this goal.
Today,
COSCO's operations cover every field of the shipping business,
including container shipping, bulk carriers, oil and LPG
carriers and more. COSCO continues to achieve and set
higher standards of service, with larger, faster ships, better
scheduling, specialized containers and state-of-the-art
equipment. From its state-owned beginnings, COSCO has
grown into a dynamic, customer-responsive carrier, fully capable
of maintaing its leadership in the highly competitive world of
international shipping.
As one of the
world's premier global carriers, COSCO has expanded and
globalized not only its shipping business, but also its role in
world trade, entering into partnerships worldwide. COSCO
Group is comprised of several hundred companies, more than 100
of these subsidiaries, joint ventures and representative offices
are located abroad, employing some 4,000 staff outside of China.
COSCO ventures now include inland haulage and storage, passenger
and cargo ferries, airfreight, port development, financial
services, real estate, tourism and insurance. |
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