By CHEN YE in Ningbo, Zhejiang | China Daily
Updated: 11:15 pm (GMT+8), May 28, 2025

Openness and collaboration will be critical for the global port and shipping industry to work toward a more stable international trade order and a resilient world economy amid rising uncertainty and disruptions, said officials and maritime industry insiders at a forum on Tuesday.

Against the backdrop of a volatile international situation, the port and shipping industry faces both new opportunities and challenges, said Wang Gang, China's vice-minister of transport, at the 2025 Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Forum in Ningbo, a port city in East China's Zhejiang province.

"We stand ready to work with all stakeholders to unite our efforts, foster development consensus through collaboration, share development opportunities, jointly meet challenges, and propel the global port and shipping industry toward higher-quality and higher-level development," he said.

Ocean shipping is the backbone of international trade, according to the United Nations Trade and Development, and moves more than 80 percent of the volume of traded goods worldwide.

But maritime transport is also susceptible to a host of factors, including geopolitical tensions, climate change and trade policies, such as Washington's policy to impose high and constantly changing tariffs, which was cited by a number of speakers at the forum as one of the most damaging elements to global trade in recent history.

China always adheres to a philosophy of win-win cooperation and opposes all forms of unilateralism, protectionism and hegemony, Wang said.

"We will keep advancing both the hard connectivity in infrastructure and the soft connectivity in rules and standards with countries and regions along the Belt and Road, deepen openness and cooperation, uphold international shipping order and work together with our partners to ensure the stability and smooth flow of the international supply chain," he added.

At the forum, a joint statement was signed by 47 industry leaders from top Chinese and international ports, port authorities, international organizations and think tanks, pledging to safeguard the stability of global logistics chains, adhere to multilateralism and support a rules-based free trade system.