The Port de Barcelona has participated in the North Bund Forum organized by the main actors in Shanghai's logistics sector.
José Alberto Carbonell was one of only two port representatives invited to speak at the Sister Ports Night.
October 20, 2026
The president of the Port de Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, during his speech at the Sister Ports Night.
This week in Shanghai, the Port de Barcelona strengthened its strategic alliance with the main Chinese port and its position in maritime connections between Asia and Europe. The president of the Port de Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, was one of only two port representatives invited to speak at the Sister Ports Night, held as part of the North Bund Forum, where the cooperation between Barcelona and Shanghai was presented as an example of collaboration and trust between ports.
The North Bund Forum is one of the main annual gatherings of the Chinese logistics sector and brings together institutions and large companies from the country's maritime, logistics, and air sectors. The delegation from the Port de Barcelona, headed by José Alberto Carbonell, combined participation in the forum with visits to some of the most advanced terminals of the Port of Shanghai and various working meetings. Among them, the meeting between José Alberto Carbonell and the president of the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), Song Xiaodong, stands out.
The visit continues the international cooperation strategy that the Port de Barcelona has deployed in recent years with ports around the world and, especially, the relationship with Shanghai. Recently, the two ports signed a strategic cooperation agreement and are currently working on the development of a Green & Digital Corridor, aimed at promoting more sustainable and efficient maritime transport between Asia and Europe.
Barcelona and Shanghai, more than two decades of cooperation
This trajectory of collaboration played a special role during the Sister Ports Night, where José Alberto Carbonell was one of only two port representatives who spoke. The evening also featured the participation of the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Domínguez, and high-ranking representatives from the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) and the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission (SMTC).
The event, organized by Yicai, also included representatives from the ports of Gothenburg, Dunkirk, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp-Bruges, HAROPA, Singapore, Busan, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, as well as the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
In his speech, the president of the Port de Barcelona highlighted more than two decades of collaboration between the ports of Barcelona and Shanghai, recalling that "both ports aspire to be more sustainable, more innovative, more efficient, and more connected to the needs of their respective societies."
José Alberto Carbonell also advocated for the need to strengthen international cooperation to address the major challenges of maritime transport: "in an increasingly interconnected world, no port can face current challenges alone, and cooperation has become a strategic necessity."
