CHINA. China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings (China Merchants Shekou Holdings) and Shenzhen Duty Free Group signed a key partnership agreement on 7 December, signaling the official launch of the CM-Yidun* cruise offshore duty free project.
Earlier, China Merchants Group Chairman Miao Jianmin met with Shen Xiaoming, Secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, and Hainan Governor Feng Fei, on 30 November to discuss the opportunities for strengthening the collaboration between China Merchants and the Hainan Government. The signing of the new agreement marks the first project following the meeting.
The two Chairmen held a meeting before the ceremony. Xu Yongjun described the duty free project onboard CM-Yidun, the first Chinese-flagged cruise liner, a major milestone in the strategic partnership between China Merchants Group and Hainan province. He said both parties must work to enhance publicity surrounding the project to boost market confidence. Xu said he hopes that the new duty free business will serve as an opportunity for both parties to deepen and broaden their relationship, and to pursue mutual development and business innovation.
You Jiangwei said that under China’s new ‘dual-circulation’ development model, offshore duty free represents an “organic marriage” between the two circulations. The implementation of the CM-Yidun cruise ship offshore duty free project, which is an alliance between a centrally controlled business and a state-owned Shenzhen business, stands as a great example of companies working together during the hard times of the COVID pandemic, he said.
Chairman You also expressed his hopes that the partners will use the project as a new beginning and leverage their resources and advantages together to reach for new heights.
In addition, You, joined by his team, toured CM-Yidun and learned about the ship’s operations and conditions. He spoke highly of its facilities and services, as well as the preparations made for the launch of the offshore duty free business onboard the ship.
In 2019, China Merchants Group and Shenzhen Duty Free Group created a joint venture, which has helped the companies further develop their passenger ship duty free businesses in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau.
The signing of the new agreement marks a fresh chapter in their partnership. Both companies pledge to fully utilise the opportunities and advantages brought by the CM-Yidun duty free project, and create a new benchmark for domestic cruise duty free business, while continuously working to deepen and expand their collaboration in the future.
*Footnote: China Merchants Shekou struck a joint venture agreement with Switzerland-based Viking Cruises in November 2020 to develop cruise tourism in China. The Chinese-flagged CM-Yidun operates under that partnership. The ship’s first sailing in late 2021 routed from Shenzhen Shekou Port to Sanya in Hainan before returning to Shenzhen on an eight-day itinerary. This marked the first of a series of China Coastal Cultural Cruises.
