Luka Koper chairman Dimitrij Zadel, Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič and Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Jure Leben were part of the delegation, the ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

Slovenia wants to connect the maritime transport routes leading from China with the corridors crossing Slovenia, in particular with the Mediterranean corridor from Ukraine to Spain.

Another corridor Slovenia wants to link with China is the Alpine-Western Balkan corridor between Austria and Turkey.

"We want to take advantage of the geo-strategic position of the Koper port," the release quotes Minister Gašperšič as saying. If a ship from China comes to Koper instead of a north European port, its travel could be reduced by up to seven days, he added.

While stressing the environmental aspect, the minister also noted during the visit to Ningbo that the Koper port "has ambitions goals, especially in container transshipment".

The visit came after Gašperšič visited Ningbo last June to discuss cooperation between the two ports, and improving airline connections between China and Slovenia.