Silk Road Maritime Transport "strengthens international trade and shipping resilience
The geopolitical tensions are affecting global trade and the international shipping industry, and in this context, how to create safe, green, and resilient maritime transportation channels has become a concern for all parties. At the 8th "Silk Road Maritime Transport" International Cooperation Forum held in Xiamen, Fujian on September 8th, domestic and foreign representatives generally expressed that in the face of multiple challenges such as geopolitical risks and green transformation, all parties in the shipping industry should strengthen connectivity and open cooperation, while actively embracing the valuable certainty and development opportunities brought by the Chinese market to the world.
Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, stated in her speech at the forum that safe and uninterrupted maritime trade is crucial, and Jamaica's economy relies on shipping operations. Therefore, it is necessary for all parties to come together to tackle challenges and establish resilient economic and trade cooperation. She specifically mentioned the important role China plays in it, "China can continuously help enhance the resilience of the international supply chain and promote international cooperation. Through strong multilateral trade and cooperation based on the Silk Road maritime transport, we can jointly build a more effective, safe, sustainable, and resilient future of prosperous development
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Isokophu, stated that the theme of this forum is "Silk Road New Journey and Symbiosis - Building a New Pattern of High level Open Port, Shipping and Trade Cooperation". "This is highly in line with Nigeria's current economic development direction. For us, 'Silk Road Maritime Transport' is not just about the transportation of ships and goods, but more about how to better connect us with the global economy, attract more investment, and create a sustainable development direction to seek well-being for our people." He mentioned that Nigeria hopes to strengthen the technical level of local people through cooperation in 'Silk Road Maritime Transport' and learn from China's' amazing development 'experience.
Zhu Boyan, Chief Representative of the Port Authority of Antwerp Bruges and Economic and Diplomatic Advisor of the Belgian Embassy in China, introduced in an interview with reporters that Antwerp Port is a comprehensive core port in Europe, and its cooperation with Chinese ports can promote more two-way capital investment, deepen economic and trade exchanges. 60% of Europe's automobile imports and exports pass through our port, and new energy vehicles are also a top priority for cooperation between Europe and China. Zhu Boyan also mentioned that China's economic development is not only reflected in the increase of cargo volume, but also in the transformation of industrial value. He believes that China's artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent driving technology, and products will expand the European market, so European ports should also transform towards digitalization to better promote trade between Europe and China.
Currently, the importance of international shipping safety and efficiency is becoming increasingly prominent, and Arctic shipping, as the third channel for China Europe maritime transportation and a shortcut for China Europe trade transportation, is receiving more and more attention. This route is not only fast, time-saving, green and energy-saving, but also can save a lot of expenses in transportation costs. In August of this year, Chinese shipping company Haijie Shipping opened its first regular container liner route through the Arctic. Some analysts believe that this means a new international trade main channel is forming.
The passage of the Arctic route cannot be separated from the comprehensive escort of professional meteorological navigation. The forum announced the official launch of the "Silk Road Shipping" Arctic route meteorological navigation service. This service is jointly developed by the China Meteorological Administration and the Silk Road Maritime Transport Alliance. It relies on Fengyun meteorological satellites to establish an Arctic sea ice observation network, integrates numerical forecasting and AI algorithms, and provides daily sea ice forecasts and dynamic monitoring of polar cyclones for the next 15 days. It effectively solves the problems of insufficient polar observation coverage and data lag, provides decision-making support for ships to avoid ice conditions and plan safe routes, and guarantees the safety of polar navigation. Recently, Haijie Shipping signed a meteorological navigation service agreement for the Arctic route with Silk Road Shipping.
Fujian Port Group Chairman Chen Zhiping told reporters that recently, the group collaborated with Xiamen Meteorological Bureau to create a "Silk Road Shipping" port meteorological risk intelligent agent, which will include centralized display of meteorological risks from 58 ports at home and abroad, integrating key information such as risk level, distance from typhoon center, and port closure and opening status. "This is the first in the world to enable ports, shipping, trade, insurance and other upstream and downstream links to quickly grasp the situation of multiple ports and significantly reduce the cost of collaborative decision-making. We will continue to polish this agent and access more ports along the the Belt and Road."
Chen Zhiping stated that the next step will be to promote the deep integration of intelligent agents with global weather and navigation services - intelligent agents managing port operations and navigation managing maritime navigation, achieving seamless coverage of the entire chain from sea to land, and enabling "Silk Road maritime transportation+meteorology" to better safeguard the integrated development of port, air and trade.
This forum announced the opening of 12 new "Silk Road Shipping" routes, the awarding of 15 new "Silk Road Shipping" alliance members, and the on-site signing and implementation of 11 cooperation projects. Gdansk Port in Poland has obtained the first "Silk Road Shipping" route, which is also the first in Central Europe. Zhang Bijun, Chief Representative of the Shanghai Representative Office of the Gdansk Port Authority, told reporters that since joining the "Silk Road Shipping" alliance in 2020, the cooperation between Gdansk Port and its Chinese partners has continued to deepen. Gdansk Port is the largest deep-water container terminal in the Baltic Sea and the last stop on the China Europe shipping container mainline. At the same time, Poland undertakes about 80% of the goods entering the European Union through the China Europe freight train. This unique geographical location allows us to fully leverage the advantages of the intersection of the 'Maritime Silk Road' and the 'Land Silk Road'
The "Silk Road Maritime Transport" established in 2018 is China's first shipping themed "the Belt and Road" international integrated logistics service brand and platform, and together with the "China Europe Express" and the "Western Land and Sea New Channel", it has become an important logistics channel for China's high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". The attendees believe that since its launch in 2018, the "Silk Road Maritime Transport" has continuously improved its service level and international influence. Against the backdrop of intensified geopolitical games, rising trade protectionism, regionalization and fragmentation of global industrial and supply chains, the "Silk Road Maritime Transport" has become an important force in promoting domestic and international dual circulation and stabilizing the global economic and trade pattern.
After nearly 8 years of operation, the "Silk Road Maritime Transport", a "golden waterway" departing from Fujian, has become wider and wider. As of now, the "Silk Road Shipping" routes have reached 160, connecting 153 ports in 50 countries and regions around the world; The number of alliance members increased to 393, covering multiple fields such as shipping, energy, manufacturing, and the Internet.