Attendees from China, Romania, Slovenia, Poland and Croatia discuss cooperation on port development in Ningbo, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, on July 12. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province signed agreements with four ports in Central and Eastern Europe in Ningbo on July 12, as the world's busiest port in cargo tonnage terms looks to further increase its international influence.

The four European ports are in the cities of Constanta, Romania; Koper, Slovenia; Gdansk, Poland; and Rijeka, Croatia.

The agreements set out the basis for wide-ranging exchanges and cooperation between Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and its new partners, with a focus on increasing the number of shipping routes and developing new routes combining marine and rail transport. The deals are expected to promote China's 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

At the signing ceremony, attendees from the four countries voiced their expectation that the deals would help enhance international freight transport and cooperation among global ports.

According to Bojan Skoda, consul curator of Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia in Shanghai, the agreements will help boost the number of ships travelling between Ningbo-Zhoushan and Koper, which currently stands at only two per week.

"We hope there could be more ships connecting the two ports and, in addition, we look forward to more investment in our infrastructure," said Skoda.

Ningbo's vice mayor, Li Guanding stressed the important role his city plays in trade with Central and Eastern European countries at the ceremony.

"The increasing bilateral trade and investment, as well as the current cultural exchanges, have laid a foundation to a closer relationship between Ningbo and Central and Eastern European countries," Li said, adding that he hoped this relationship would be able to give a strong boost to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has been developing very fast since its establishment in 2015, when the existing ports in Ningbo and Zhoushan were integrated.

The new super-port is the busiest in the world in terms of cargo tonnage, with a total throughput of over 900 million tons in 2016. Throughput reached 515 million tons during the first half of 2017.

Containers at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port wait to be exported to overseas markets. [Photo/cztv.com]