Global Times: Booming Silk Road Maritime Forum boosts worldwide connectivity, resilience amid global trade uncertainty

BEIJING, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 7th Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum held in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, economic officials, builders and operators of ports around the world, and representatives of international organizations, expressed their expectations and hopes for increasing connectivity, resilience and prosperity amid growing global trade uncertainty.

Officials and industry insiders said that the forum — boasting China's first maritime shipping-centered international logistics service platform under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - has helped boost maritime trade and keep China's opening-up sailing ahead.

"Silk Road Maritime is no longer a Chinese initiative or program — it is a market-driven, shared-value platform, which has transcended multilateral dialogue and grown into a global hub integrating ports, logistics, trade, and finance, demonstrating the value of interconnection, joint construction, and shared benefits," said Andrzej Juchniewicz, China representative office chief of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.

China's approach to promoting maritime connectivity within the BRI is sustainable and market-oriented, he said. For Poland, a gateway country to the EU, it presents tremendous opportunities to enhance cooperation by closely connecting the Silk Road Maritime routes with Poland's logistics hubs and jointly exploring the Central and Eastern European market.

In terms of China and EU economic and trade ties, Andrzej Juchniewicz said that two-way capital flows are especially dynamic in vehicles, industrial manufacturing and battery-pack production. "We want to have more cooperation with Chinese companies in these fields to help us in advancing our green transition," he told the Global Times on the sidelines of the forum, which was held on Monday and Tuesday in Xiamen.

At the forum, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources of Maldives, said that trade protectionism, geopolitical tensions, climate change and other factors are heightening uncertainty. "Cooperation with China can enhance connectivity and economic resilience," he noted. "We look forward to more collaboration under the BRI framework."

Ren Weimin, director of the Transport Division of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), told delegates that "connectivity is vital to regional economic growth and cooperation as it fosters the development of a 'borderless' maritime trade network along the Maritime Silk Road and helps small island and developing economies better access global markets, and it can create new connections and innovative business models," he said.

Amid global trade uncertainty, the forum has injected greater certainty into global trade and shipping and helped to solidify long-term connectivity and resilience, said Zhang Ruosi, counselor of the Trade in Services and Investment Division of the World Trade Organization, in a keynote speech on Monday.

The 7th Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum gathered more than 1,500 participants from more than 30 countries and regions, who called for stronger regional integration of ports, shipping and trade within the framework of regional cooperation.

The forum, which concluded on Tuesday, witnessed a signing ceremony for 10 cooperation agreements between 27 Chinese and foreign enterprises, according to the organizers. In addition, the organizers announced 15 new sea shipment routes named after the Silk Road Maritime Association, expanding the network to 148 routes connecting 150 ports in 48 countries, Chen Zhiping, chairman of Fujian Provincial Port Group -- the forum's organizer -- told a press conference.

Talking about the forum's contribution to China's opening-up and global trade cooperation, Chen said that as China's first BRI-themed international logistics platform established seven years ago, the Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum has made major progress—expanding its participants, adding container services, boosting cross-border e-commerce and rolling out sea-rail intermodal links.

So far, the Silk Road Maritime network has handled more than 24 million standard containers, operated more than 20,000 container sailings, surpassed 27 million tons in general cargo throughput, and recorded trade worth more than 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion).

"Our circle of friends keeps growing as well," Chen noted. "The network now covers 148 routes departing from 13 domestic and foreign ports and reaching 150 ports in 48 countries. Meanwhile, smart-port construction and data interconnectivity have further trimmed logistics costs and improved route efficiency."

However, amid challenges brought by geopolitical tensions and supply-chain restructuring, the forum intends to inject fresh momentum into China's opening-up and add certainty to global trade, according to Chen.

To achieve this goal, Chen outlined three priorities: building an integrated sea-rail-road-air logistics grid to diversify corridors and strengthen supply-chain resilience; enabling seamless data flows among ports, shipping lines and traders to help Chinese firms expand their global footprints; and promoting port-shipping-trade integration so that China's new-energy products and other Chinese-made products can compete worldwide through faster, greener lanes.

Technology and green development were highlights at this year's forum. At the opening ceremony on Monday, China's first-ever green evaluation system for ports and shipping lines was unveiled. Sha Mei, director of the Faculty of Transport and Communications at Shanghai Maritime University, told the Global Times that the evaluation system primarily assesses emissions related to Silk Road Maritime routes, voyage distances, and port operations. "Through this research, we aim to provide enterprises with clear standards, so as to ensure green shipping, reduce operational costs, and enhance port operators' competitiveness."

With the theme "Seamless Port and Shipping, Boundless Silk Road Trade," the forum aims to strengthen the connectivity of maritime transport on the Maritime Silk Road, and to enhance exchanges and cooperation within the port and shipping industries related to the Maritime Silk Road.

Participants this year included senior officials and representatives from UN ESCAP, the World Bank, the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Association of Ports and Harbors and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, as well as leaders from COSCO Shipping, China Merchants, Maersk, MSC, the port of Hamburg, Singapore, the port of Antwerp, the port of Gdansk, the ports of Ghana, and other leading port and shipping companies.

SOURCE Global Times