The Antwerp Port has already seen new Chinese investment waves in Belgium as well as in Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative, said Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Antwerp Port Authority, in a recent written interview with Xinhuanet.

Vandermeiren noted that China is a very important partner of Antwerp as it maintains sister port relationship with a number of China’s port cities including Shanghai and Dalian.

In light of this, the CEO believed that more Chinese investment will come to Antwerp in the wake of the China-proposed initiative.

He further hailed the significance of this initiative, saying it is now an integral part of Antwerp’s strategic plan and is high on the agenda of the Port of Antwerp community.

“Antwerp has given increased attention to the Belt and Road Initiative of China very early on,” he said.

In 2015, the Antwerp Port Authority established a working group to align with this initiative and to assess Antwerp’ s conditions to welcome Chinese investment and train connections, the CEO introduced.

For further cooperation, the Antwerp Port will continuously monitor how to improve multimodal access, means for investment and the ever-developing deepsea connectivity with China and beyond, he added.

“We have been in contact with a number of Chinese companies about their potential cooperation with the Port of Antwerp and will intensify this contact in the future,” Vandermeiren said.

The EU is the largest trading partner of China. Vandermeiren believed that the Belt and Road Initiative will further promote the trade and investment between EU and China.

As the second largest port of Europe and its prime central gateway, the Port of Antwerp has already profited much from this initiative and will surely gain more in trade between EU and China, Vandermeiren said.

Antwerp is poised for the new wave of Chinese cargo volume and investment, he added.