French shipping group Cma Cgm and China Communications Construction Company (Cccc) signed a memorandum of understanding in Shenzhen on 28 August 2026 to launch international cooperation on port infrastructure, logistics, digital innovation and the energy transition. The agreement, signed by Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive of the French group, and Zhang Bingnan, chairman of Cccc, does not concern an investment or a specific terminal, but is a framework agreement, with no public list of projects, amounts or concessions, and is not subject to specific regulatory approvals as it is a non-binding memorandum.
The cooperation will cover a very broad scope, including Africa, China and South-east Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The two multinationals will combine complementary expertise: Cccc will contribute its design, engineering and construction capabilities for major works, including port infrastructure, while Cma Cgm will provide its global maritime network, terminal management and supply chain expertise. Its subsidiary Ceva Logistics will provide logistics and project cargo support for Cccc’s infrastructure programmes.
The memorandum identifies four areas of work. On the port side, the parties want to explore the possibility of linking the construction of new terminals from the outset with liner traffic and logistics customers, thereby reducing the commercial risk of the projects. In multimodal logistics, the document refers to corridors, inland terminals, container depots, warehouses and inland platforms. In this context, Ceva’s presence is intended to extend the offer beyond the port perimeter towards door-to-door flows. On innovation, the two companies will assess digital and artificial intelligence solutions for terminal automation and the management of yards, access and traffic forecasts. On the energy transition, the cooperation could extend to renewable plants and infrastructure for alternative fuels for ships, barges, trains and port vehicles. The language of the agreement nevertheless remains exploratory and does not yet identify specific methanol, hydrogen or shore power facilities.
The agreement has not emerged from nowhere. Cccc and Cma Cgm already cooperate through two subsidiaries of the Chinese group: China Harbour Engineering Company (Chec) is Cma Cgm’s terminal partner at Lekki Freeport in Nigeria and at Kribi Container Terminal in Cameroon, while Zpmc has supplied port equipment to terminals linked to the French group since 2004. The memorandum signed in Shenzhen therefore formalises a long-standing industrial relationship and broadens its stated scope.
For Cma Cgm, the agreement forms part of a strategy to verticalise the logistics chain that has already produced other similar agreements in recent months, including a memorandum with the Saudi authorities for the development of terminals and logistics platforms in the kingdom and one with Ad Ports Group for the rail integration of Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates. For Cccc, the French counterpart offers the possibility of linking new maritime infrastructure with transport demand, terminal capacity and logistics services, shifting the relationship from a purely construction-led approach towards more integrated projects.
In the energy field, Cma Cgm is already building relationships in the alternative fuels supply chain in China: in March, the dual-fuel container ship Cma Cgm Osmium carried out its first bio-methanol bunkering operation, taking on 3,643 tonnes at the port of Yangshan, and in August the same vessel received 8,016 tonnes of bio-methanol at the port of Shanghai, a volume that the companies involved, Sipg Energy and Shanghai Electric, describe as a world record for a single bunkering operation of this kind.
