Maersk Line, one of the world's largest container carriers by volume and market value, is planning to further combine intra-Asia imports with its global export network to strengthen its advantages in the region.

Tim Smith, the chief executive officer for the North Asia region of the company, said it is very much linked to China's increasing imports as the country usually buys in raw materials or partly processed goods from other parts of Asia, before assembling and sending them for export.

"I think we have to put more focus on the import market than we have done. If you look at our organization design, it is mostly focused on servicing the export business. We have to step up, for example the number of sales people we have looking into the import market," he told China Daily.

Smith said the company also needed to look very carefully at the rotation of vessels because most designs were produced to ensure better export connections to principal destinations.

"The port rotation should be different because the ports for imports are not necessarily the same as the main ports for exports," he said