The 9th annual BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit, which is touted as a major international relations event that brings in top officials from each member nation, is being hosted in Xiamen, China this year. The 2017 summit will officially take place between September 3rd and 5th. However, tightened security measures leading up to the event are already causing delays and congestion along the Xiamen port, a key player in trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trade.

Cargo will continue to move into and out of Xiamen during the summit, but not at the rate and extent to which shippers have become accustomed. We have outlined a few of the most notable details regarding freight moves during this year’s BRICS Summit below:

  • Effective August 22nd, 2017 through September 6th, 2017 all cars and trucks, whether freight or passenger, entering Xiamen must undergo an additional security screening. In regard to freight entering the terminal, ALL containers must undergo an additional security check as well, so container pick up and return will be delayed.
  • Beginning on August 30th, certain roads leading into Xiamen will be closed to thru traffic.
  • Certain flights scheduled to depart prior to as well as during the meeting period will be cancelled. Three flights from Xiamen to Europe, one scheduled for departure on August 30th and the other two scheduled for September 6th, have already been cancelled.
  • Cathay Pacific (CX) and its subsidiary, Dragon Air (KA), will open a new inland terminal in Jinjiang (roughly 30 miles from the Xiamen Airport) and will provide their trucking services to the Hong Kong airport as a means of avoiding the road closures and congestion in Xiamen.
  • Express and parcel business in Xiamen is still operating normally, though parcels will undergo further security screenings.

Shapiro is doing everything in our power to amend routings accordingly and avoid congestion/delays. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as they become available.