FMC chairman Blust meets COSCO CEO Wei in Beijing

FMC chairman Blust meets COSCO CEO Wei in Beijing    U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Steven Blust met Wei Jiafu, the president and chief executive officer of the China Ocean Shipping Co. group, in Beijing on Tuesday (Nov. 4).
   Second secretary Craig Reilly from the U.S. embassy in Beijing also attended the meeting.
   COSCO said that the two senior officials “exchanged opinions” about the China-U.S. trade, bilateral maritime cooperation, container security and crew visa applications.
   Wei also told Blust about the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s CEO meetings in Thailand.
   Blust briefed Wei about the International Maritime Forum 2003 held in Shanghai and “FMC’s opinions and views on a number of key concerns,” COSCO said in a brief statement on the meeting.
   The meeting took place as the U.S. State Department and its counterparts in the Chinese government continue to work on the finalization of a China/U.S. bilateral maritime agreement, after years of policy disagreement between the two countries.