Not only the world-renowned shipping companies, but also the land transportation and air transportation companies came to the forum. Transportation companies as well as related enterprises, international organizations and other subjects in the transportation chain appeared in the forum one after another. Many Chinese and foreign companies who participated in the 2021 North Bund International Shipping Forum recently expressed a wish: to continue to seek development opportunities in Shanghai in the future.

Having withstood the test of Covid-19 epidemic, Shanghai International Shipping Center is moving from "basic completion" to "full completion". By ensuring the stability of the world industrial chain supply chain and becoming the most stable growth pole of the global shipping network, it displays China's responsibility and wins international recognition.

The city's prosperity relies on the port, and the port is used by the city. Shanghai has been promoting the in-depth integration of domestic and foreign logistics networks with a high-spirited attitude in the process of building an international shipping center in an all-round way, enhancing the resilience of the supply chain and making China's unique contribution to the smooth flow of the global shipping and logistics chain.

Crack the "container lacking disease" and open up the "congestion points" of the global shipping network

Under the influence of the epidemic, "serious lack of containers" has plagued the global shipping market, but the shipping industry in China has taken the lead out of the predicament. Nowadays, when "congestion points" and "breakpoints" frequently appear in the global shipping network, Shanghai International Shipping Center has fully played its role in resource planning, congestion relief and smooth operation.

In August this year, Shanghai Port Northeast Asia Empty Container Dispatching Center was established in Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Shanghai Port Group has joined hands with world-renowned shipping logistics companies such as Maersk to optimize the allocation of empty container resources in Northeast Asia and improve the efficiency of container turnover and utilization.

There is no way to ship goods without containers. Shanghai Port Northeast Asia Empty Container Dispatching Center was born in order to cure the "container lacking disease". Shanghai Port Group took the lead in building a 450,000-square-meter empty container yard in Yangshan Port Area to attract empty containers to gather here. At the same time, it can provide supporting services such as container maintenance, cleaning, inspection and dispatching. In the future, a container management information processing system will also be launched to coordinate the empty container yard resources at Shanghai Port.

Last year, the container throughput of Shanghai Port increased against market downtrend, ranking first in the world for the 11th consecutive year. From January to October this year, Shanghai Port has completed the container throughput of 38.977 million TEUs, an increase of 8.7% over the same period last year. The annual throughput is expected to hit a new record high. Besides, Shanghai Port took the lead in the world to realize the crew shift at the port last year, providing convenience for the effective operation of shipping companies.

Shanghai has made great efforts to improve its "software and hardware", retaining its third place in the world.

Behind the soaring container throughput, Shanghai has gone from Huangpu River to Yangtze River and deep sea, and completed the "triple jump" from a river port to a sea port.

Located on the coast of the East China Sea, Yangshan Deepwater Port Phase IV, the container terminal with the largest single scale and the highest degree of comprehensive automation in the world, is running around the clock. Its core control system is the product of the joint efforts of Shanghai Port Group. The first installation of "China Core" in China's automated terminals has not only created many "world firsts" in the port and shipping industry, but also strengthened the important position of Shanghai Port in the global shipping industry.

While the hardware conditions have caught up and surpassed, the "soft power", once regarded as a shortage, is now recognized by the shipping industry all over the world. After more than ten years of development, the market share of Shanghai shipping insurance is among the highest in the world, the shipping freight index it created has formed international influence, and shipping financing and maritime legal services have also achieved breakthrough development. Nowadays, the world's leading liner companies, cruise companies and classification societies have set up their headquarters or branches in Shanghai.

Since 2009, the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center has entered a "two-wheel drive” stage, namely hardware and service. the Development Index of Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center in the last two years shows that Shanghai's ranking has firmly retained its third place in the world. Among the evaluation criteria for this index report, hardware accounts for only 20%, while services account for 80%.

Participants discussed international cooperation and how to better serve national strategies and global development.

In the future global shipping industry, challenges and opportunities coexist. At the 2021 North Bund International Shipping Forum, participants from the global shipping industry and port management departments gathered to discuss "Openness and Tolerance, Innovation and Change, Cooperation and Mutual Benefit -Future-oriented Development and Reconstruction of International Shipping Industry". The Shanghai Municipal Government and the International Maritime Organization reached a consensus on cooperation at the forum, which is of great significance for the Shanghai International Shipping Center to integrate into the world and serve the world.

At the same time, leading shipping service enterprises are supported and encouraged to "go global", that is, participating in the international shipping market cooperation along the "the belt and road initiative" actively, and enhancing the global shipping resource allocation capacity. In the future, Shanghai will continue to support enterprises to better play the important role of Shanghai International Shipping Center in serving the national strategy and global development through the export of capital, technology and management.

In addition, with supports from maritime agencies and ship inspection service agencies in Shanghai, Shanghai will strengthen forward-looking research in areas such as intelligent shipping, actively participate in the formulation and revision of international maritime technical rules and standards, strive to form Chinese proposals on intelligent ships, improve the comprehensive ability of serving the world in the fields of shipping equipment, technology and standards, and enhance the contribution of Shanghai International Shipping Center in international maritime governance.

Author: Zhang Xiaoming from Wenhui Daily