Liu Minxia

mllmx@msn.com

A WEEK after attending the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in his home city of San Francisco in California, Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport, embarked on a 10-day tour of the U.S. freight logistics company’s Asia-Pacific subsidiaries that include a two-day stopover in Shenzhen.

“It was a real honor for us to have so many great leaders from countries across Asia and see increased cooperation between these countries,” Petersen said in an exclusive interview with Shenzhen Daily on Dec. 5. “Our business is trade. It’s all about connecting these countries. So, it’s great to see a good dialogue happening.”

Petersen, who founded Flexport in 2013, once stayed in China for two years in 2005 and 2006 to source products firsthand and that experience inspired him to venture into the global shipping business.

When asked about the prospects of Sino-U.S. trade relations, the trade and logistics veteran said both sides benefit from trade. “I expect to see lots more trade, even as there might be tensions, there might be things that need to be worked out,” he said. “The business communities definitely want to trade.”

Flexport, renowned as a technology disrupter in logistics, aims to modernize the freight industry through technology. Three years after its inception, the San Francisco-based logistics provider expanded its reach to Shenzhen, and later in 2019 established its first technology team in Asia in the city.

“What makes us unique is that we use technology to make it easier to ship products from any factory anywhere in China,” Petersen said. The company’s Shenzhen technology team is “building some very important technology not just for Chinese users, but serving customers around the world.”

The Shenzhen technology team is currently leading the company’s effort in developing artificial intelligence that would lower the cost of shipping, according to Petersen.

Shenzhen’s rapid development in cross-border e-commerce has been advantageous for Flexport, though Petersen noted the challenge of ensuring sufficient airfreight capacity to meet growing demand. “Fifty percent of the world’s airfreight flies in the belly of passenger planes, and many of those [planes] were grounded during the pandemic, but now they’re coming back quickly,” he said. “Hopefully this will help solve the problem.”

Drawing on his extensive supply chain industry experience, Petersen made headlines in 2021 for offering concrete suggestions to address backlogs at California ports and supply chain challenges. Some of his recommendations were implemented by California Governor Gavin Newsom and several U.S. industry insiders proclaimed Petersen’s suggestions had “saved Christmas.”

Coming from the U.S. Bay Area, Petersen highly recognizes the vital role of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in ocean shipping. “This has been a center for ocean shipping for a thousand years. Guangzhou has been a major Chinese trading city at least a thousand years, probably longer. And now it’s moved over here to Shenzhen as the more important port for ocean-going freight. It’s probably one of the most important ports in the entire world,” he said.

Before founding Flexport, Petersen’s early business involved sourcing motor scooters and off-road vehicles from China, with Geely as one of his suppliers.

“We never sold their cars, just their motor scooters 20 years ago,” he said. “It’s very interesting to see the progress of this company. It’s kind of a sign of all of China, because back then, [they made] very small scooters, and now they make very high-quality cars. And I feel fortunate to be here in the early days.”