On September 6, 2022, the 2022 Port and Shipping Enterprise Development Forum was held in Pingtan, Fujian. The forum was organized by the CIN, the People’s Government of Dalian Municipality, the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone Management Committee, China Waterborne Transport Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, and China Merchants Group Co., Ltd., under the guidance of the Office of the Water Transport Administration of the Ministry of Transport, the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, and the Shanghai Composite Port Management Committee, and undertaken by the China Communications News Agency and Fujian Maritime Safety Administration.
As one of the special forums of the 2022 China Maritime Day Forum, with the theme of “being a pioneer to promote innovation and development”, the forum invited guests from government management departments, port and shipping enterprises, research institutes, shipping service institutions, and relevant industry associations to come together to discuss the innovative development plan of the port and shipping industry.
Yan Xiaobo, secretary general of the CIN, attended the forum and delivered a speech. He pointed out that since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the port and shipping industry has overcome difficulties. While building a solid epidemic prevention and control barrier, it has made every effort to ensure that “export goods can go out and import goods can come in”, contributing to the global fight against the pandemic, promoting the trade recovery, and ensuring the stability of the industrial chains and supply chains.
He pointed out that in the current situation that the pandemic is still spreading around the world, coupled with geopolitical instability factors, increased downward pressure on the economy and other risks, there are still many uncertainties in the high-quality development of the port and shipping industry. In this context, the smooth and stable supply chains of the international industrial chains are still facing huge challenges. All of these require that the port and shipping industry to adhere to innovation as the first driving force for development, cultivate opportunities in the crisis, create new landscape in the changing situation, and strengthen innovation and application in key areas and links. Meanwhile, it needs to improve the level of digitalization and intelligence of water transport, promote the deep integration of new technologies with the water transport industry such as big data, Internet, artificial intelligence, blockchain to promote the development of new formats and models, to further accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the port and shipping industry.
He said that transportation is a pacesetter of economic and social development, among which port and shipping enterprises are an indispensable force. It is hoped that through this forum, more consensuses can be gathered and stronger synergy formed to jointly drive the port and maritime industry on a new journey of high-quality development with innovation. The CIN will, as always, be committed to promoting the construction of maritime culture and the innovation and development of marine science and technology, inheriting maritime culture, carrying forward the navigation spirit of the new era, and gathering the great power of the water transport industry.