Connection with China crucial for Port of Hamburg: marketing CEO

Data from Hamburg Port Marketing shows the port handled 597,000 TEUs of China-bound containers in Q1 2025, an 11.3-percent year-on-year increase. In 2024, China accounted for 2.2 million TEUs, or about 30 percent of the port’s total throughput.

Beyond growing volumes, China-Europe goods transiting Hamburg have diversified, including consumer products, chemicals, and machinery equipment.

“We have signed various cooperation memorandums with our Chinese partners. Hamburg Port maintains long-term, close collaborations with Shanghai Port and Shenzhen Port. Additionally, we operate large-scale offices in Shanghai, Ningbo, Tianjin, and Qingdao. Hamburg Port remains committed to fostering professional exchange, which is why we have established diverse partnerships, including technical exchanges, port operations, and crucially, in the fields of digitalization and green sustainability initiatives,” said Mattern.

He emphasized Hamburg’s role as Europe’s gateway, where Chinese goods are distributed across the continent, reflecting tight economic bonds between China, Germany and the rest of Europe.

“We have been actively participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for many years, with particular focus on the rail connections between China and the Port of Hamburg. Moreover, we view this as a partnership — one that is open and collaborative,” he said.

As a vital China-Europe trade nexus, Hamburg Port continues deepening bilateral exchanges in goods and personnel. The port authorities pledged to further enhance economic cooperation under the BRI framework.

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