Wilhelmshaven port and logistics industry presents itself in Budapest
JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven – a strong partner for Hungary in trade with China
Under the motto ‘Wilhelmshaven meets Budapest’, an information event was held on Wednesday, 19 November, at the ARANYBÁSTYA by leading companies from the Wilhelmshaven port and logistics industry and their Budapest partners. There was considerable interest on the Hungarian side, with around 100 participants from the Budapest economic metropolitan area accepting the invitation from JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven and EUROGATE, the operator of the container terminal.
The Hungarian economy is already an established partner in foreign trade and an integral part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Budapest has developed into an important hub for Chinese and Hungarian supply and value chains in China-Europe trade. In addition to a wide range of consumer and industrial goods, foreign trade is currently dominated by e-mobility vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products.
For particularly time-critical and high-value products, a new transport service has been available since the beginning of the year in the form of the China-Europe-Express (CEX), the only direct express service on the container shipping route between China’s largest port, Ningbo Zhoushan, and Germany’s only deep-water port, Wilhelmshaven. The advantage of the new connection: with a transit time of only 26 days, the CEX is an attractive alternative to air freight and rail transport for the Hungarian market.
Further advantages of JadeWeserPort are the fast hinterland connections by container train and truck, as well as a wide range of liner services that characterise the port, which can be reached regardless of the tide. EUROGATE Intermodal (EGIM), which has been active in Hungary since 1992 and has had its own traction services in the country since 2006, ensures fast and reliable container transport between Budapest and Wilhelmshaven. The company organises up to twelve train departures per week between Budapest and the German seaports of Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Each train transports up to 92 TEU in the EGIM Group’s climate-efficient intermodal network.
At the information event, the port and logistics location of Wilhelmshaven, situated on the German North Sea coast, positioned itself as a reliable partner with high-performance transhipment and efficient handling. Marc-Oliver Hauswald, Managing Director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG, welcomed the event guests as host and moderator. In his welcoming speech, he presented the programme and the speakers at the event. In the subsequent presentation, he emphasised that JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven (JWP), opened in 2012, is Germany’s only deep-water container port with a water depth of 18 metres, offering ideal nautical and transport geography conditions for handling the largest container ships. “The JWP is currently the port of call and hub for a total of nine liner services operated by international shipping companies. They connect Wilhelmshaven with destinations in the main markets in North America and Asia. Since January 2025, JWP has been connected to China’s Ningbo Zhoushan port by the only direct container liner service between China and Northern Europe. The “China-Europe Express, CEX” operated by the Chinese shipping company KAWA is currently the fastest liner service on the market. Containers from China destined for the Hungarian market can reach their destination terminal in Hungary by container train in just 27 hours after arriving in Wilhelmshaven,” Hauswald emphasized. He also pointed out that the JWP freight transport center (GVZ), located directly next to the container terminal, is a leading logistics and distribution park in terms of national and international comparison and is currently being expanded. The high level of development and the options for expanding the site are exemplary for the top rating (13th place) in the European ranking of GVZs. Numerous companies, including the Chinese logistics company Zheijang Seaport (Germany) Supply Chain Management, use the logistics park and offer a wide range of services for all types of import and export goods.
In her presentation, Xiuyue Wu, representative of Zhejiang Seaport (Germany) Supply Chain Management GmbH, also emphasized the importance of the new CEX liner service. “The CEX is recognized as a key project by the Chinese Ministry of Transport and helps to strengthen global supply chain resilience. Plans are already underway to offer our customers 14-day departures in the future. The Chinese logistics company is also planning to further expand its fleet and storage capacities and is a partner in the development of the JWP freight transport center (GVZ) in Wilhelmshaven. There, the company already operates the first and so far only port-adjacent overseas and customs warehouse in northwestern Europe with approval for Class 9 dangerous goods.
To expand and promote trade between China and Hungary, the CECZ, Central European Trade and Logistics Zone, was launched in Budapest in 2012 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Dr. Balázs László GAZSÓ, CEO, Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone (CECZ) said: “With the activities of the CECZ, which offers comprehensive logistics, trade, and B2B solutions in Budapest and a guaranteed transit time for transport between China and Budapest, we want to promote investment and trade partnerships between Chinese and European companies while strengthening Hungary’s role in economic and logistical cooperation between China and the European Union.”
The information event organized under the motto “Wilhelmshaven meets Budapest” at ARANYBÁSTYA left all participants with the lasting impression that cross-border cooperation enables very different players to successfully and innovatively shape the logistics processes and services of international supply chains for the benefit of global trade. The logistics and trade cooperation between Ningbo, Wilhelmshaven, and Budapest is a good example of successful collaboration on the China-Europe axis.
