Global Times: Silk Road Maritime Intl' Co-op Forum kicks off in Xiamen, aimed to improve BRI cooperation

BEIJING, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 7th Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum opened on Monday in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, gathering over 1,500 participants from more than 30 countries and regions, including government officials, representatives from international organizations, experts, and executives from ports, shipping lines, and other sectors. 

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, to enhance the exchange and cooperation within the port and shipping industries related to the Maritime Silk Road. 

At the opening ceremony, Fujian Provincial Port Group, the organizer, unveiled the 2025 Silk Road Maritime Blue Book, a second-phase plan, for the international shipping service platform, and China's first-ever green evaluation system for ports and shipping lines.

In addition, the organizer announced 15 new sea shipment routes named after the Silk Road Maritime- expanding the network to 148 routes connecting 150 ports in 48 countries. The forum also witnessed the signing ceremony of 10 cooperation agreements between 27 Chinese and foreign enterprises, and the induction of 14 new members of the Silk Road Maritime Association.

At the forum's closed-door round table on Monday, participants adopted the 2025 Xiamen Initiative of the Silk Road Maritime, which called for stronger regional integration of ports, shipping and trade within the framework of regional cooperation.

Technology and green development were highlights at this year's forum. For the first time, a Zheng He Navigation academic achievement sharing symposium was set up, linking the ancient Ming-dynasty navigator's legacy with today's AI and green-finance efforts. Six thematic forums focusing on security, ports, shipping and multimodal transport, international trade, technology and finance will also be held during the forum, covering topics on meteorological navigation, artificial intelligence, maritime finance, smart ports, logistics corridor development, and trade growth.

As China's first maritime shipping-centered international logistics service platform under the Belt and Road Initiative, the Silk Road Maritime Association now boasts a total of 148 named sea shipment routes, connecting 150 sea ports across 48 countries and regions, 367 members across industries including shipping, energy, manufacturing and Internet.

Since its launch seven years ago, the Silk Road Maritime Association has handled over 24 million TEU on container services, operated more than 20,000 container sailings, surpassed 27 million tons in general cargo throughput, and recorded a trade volume exceeding 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion).

Since its debut in 2019, the forum has become a crucial platform for dialogue and cooperation in international shipping and logistics, drawing more than 200 speakers and over 4,000 delegates from over 30 countries and regions.

Participants include senior officials and representatives from UN ESCAP, the World Bank, the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Association of Ports and Harbors, 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