China and Colombia should seize the latter's formal accession to the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity to improve the quality and level of bilateral cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday.

Xi Jinping made the statement during a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is in Beijing to attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum /Community of Latin American and Caribbean States/.

After the meeting, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a cooperation plan between the two governments to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

As part of its efforts to expand its global terminal operations in strategic ports, CMA CGM Group reports it has entered into a public-private partnership to develop its first terminal in northern Vietnam. The group calls it a strategic investment to support the region’s strong industrial and logistics growth.

CMA CGM highlights it has been active in Vietnam since 1989 and today operates 29 weekly services from seven ports in the country. It is co-owner of the Gemalink terminal in Cai Mep, in southern Vietnam near Ho Chi Minh City, and the Vietnam International Container Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City.

The group has signed a partnership agreement with Saigon Newport Corporation to develop a new deep-water terminal in Hai Phone in northern Vietnam. A French colonial port dating to 1874, Hai Pong is near the northern border with China and one of the areas Vietnam is investing in for industrial and manufacturing development.

The agreement encompasses the design, construction, and operation of the Lach Huyen terminals 7 and 8, located in the strategically positioned Lach Huyen area in Hai Phong. The terminal will have a capacity of 1.9 million TEUs and is scheduled to open in 2028. CMA CGM reports it represents a total investment of $600 million.

The company says the project is designed to meet the sharp increase in container volumes in northern Vietnam—one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economic zones. This partnership will enable CMA CGM to secure long-term capacity in a region that has become central to Asian supply chains due to its rapid industrial and logistics development.

The Port of Hai Phong celebrated last month the opening of Berth 4 with space for a containership and a barge. Six years after announcing the project, the facilities are now authorized to receive both domestic and international vessels for cargo handling and other related maritime services. Berth No.4 is 375 meters (1,230 feet) in length and is capable of accommodating fully loaded container vessels up to 100,000 dwt or approximately 8,000 TEUs, while the Barge Wharf is 150 meters (492 feet) in length and perpendicular to the container berth to handle barges with a capacity of up to 160 TEUs. The Service Wharf is 50 meters (164 feet) long and used for tugboats. It joins Berth 3 in expanding the port’s capacity.

Vietnam is working to expand its global exports. The government has been working on a trade deal with the Trump administration as it positions to benefit from the U.S.’s efforts to move away from Chinese imports.

Consolidated shipping revenue for the quarter was $8.8 billion, up 11.5% year-over-year.

EBITDA was $2.5 billion, an increase of 30.0% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

EBITDA margin was 28.9%, up 4.1 points.

Average revenue per TEU was $1,498, up 7.1% year-over-year.

Revenue from other activities (Port Terminals, CMA CGM Air Cargo, CMA Media, etc.) grew 30.9% to $833 million. EBITDA increased by 91.5% to USD 157 million due to the inclusion of RMC BFM in the scope of consolidation and good performance in terminals and air cargo.

Maersk reported a 30–40% drop in U.S.–China container traffic in April and revised its 2025 global outlook to a range of -1% to +4% (down from the earlier forecast of 4% growth).

The main cause is U.S. tariffs, which have weakened global demand and forced many economies to revise their growth projections.

Despite this, Maersk maintained its profit forecast thanks to rising freight rates and longer routes due to Red Sea disruptions.

Carriers benefit from extended detours around Africa, but the risk of falling demand in the second half of the year remains.

China's tightening of controls on exports of related rare earth elements reflects the country's firm determination to safeguard national security as well as world peace and security. This was stated by the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association on Sunday.

The statement was made after China's Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced on April 4 the imposition of export control measures on seven medium and heavy rare earth elements.

As the association noted, these rare earth metals can be used for both military and civilian purposes, and the Chinese government's export control measures are fully based on international practices.

The industry association emphasized that if enterprises are not engaged in activities that undermine China's national sovereignty, security and development interests, export controls will not affect their normal business and trade activities, much less the stability and security of international supply chains.

China's rare earth element enterprises will, in view of the requirements announced on April 4, firmly adhere to high-level openness to the outside world and continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with friendly countries, the association added.