On August 29, the High-Quality Development Conference for the Jining Northern Inland Shipping Center was held in Nishan, Qufu. The event was jointly hosted by the Jining Municipal People’s Government and the Shandong Provincial Department of Transport, guided by the China Ports & Harbors Association, the Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and Shanghai Top 50 Shipping Elites Development Research Center, and organized by the Jining Municipal Transport Bureau, Shandong Ronghui Group and Shandong Port and Shipping Inland River Economy Research Institute.
With the theme “Green, Intelligent, Open and Win-Win”, the event aimed to discuss major plans for the high-quality development of inland shipping and inject strong momentum into building China’s strength in transportation in the new era.
Huang Zhendong, former Minister of Transport; Li Xiaolong, Vice Governor of Shandong Province; Xu Zuyuan, former Vice Minister of Transport; Gu Jinshan, President of the China Ports & Harbors Association; Yu Yongsheng, Director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Transport; Meng Fangbing, Party Secretary of Wuhan University of Technology; Huang Youfang, Chairman of Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center; Gao Liping, Chairman and General Manager of Shandong Port Group; Wen Jinrong, Secretary of the CPC Jining Municipal Committee; Guo Fei, Mayor of Jining; Zhang Guangyu, Chairman of Shandong Ronghui Group; and Wang Chongjing, General Manager of Shandong Ronghui Group, attended the event. More than 300 representatives from national ministries and commissions, relevant departments of Shandong Province, industry associations, universities and research institutes, key enterprises and financial institutions participated.
The event focused on key areas for the high-quality development of northern inland shipping and delivered a series of innovative measures and cooperation achievements. Wen Jinrong, Secretary of the CPC Jining Municipal Committee, and Yu Yongsheng, Director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Transport, jointly inaugurated the Shandong Port and Shipping Inland River Economy Research Institute. Huang Youfang, Chairman of Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center, was appointed as Honorary President, and Guo Fei, Mayor of Jining, presented him with the appointment certificate.
In addition, witnessed by government leaders, association representatives and heads of key enterprises, Chen Hongbing, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Bo Fuli, President of the Shandong Port and Shipping Inland River Economy Research Institute. The cooperation will build a professional research platform and market-oriented service carrier for regional port and shipping industry development.
Chen Hongbing (on the right) signed the contract on behalf of both parties with Bo Fuli
Chairman Huang Youfang was invited to deliver a keynote speech focusing on the construction of an integrated port and shipping supply chain service system. He systematically analyzed the drivers for building such a system, the connotation of an integrated supply chain service system with ports as core hubs, the role of regional coordination in promoting basin economic development, the objective laws guiding the transformation of port and shipping logistics enterprises toward supply chain services, and the need to follow industry trends to address changes in port competition and industrial demand.
He proposed that the traditional development model based on “large-scale inbound and outbound flows” can no longer meet the needs of the new stage of development. The port industry has shifted from traditional “single-point competition” to “full-dimensional supply chain competition”. He also shared a new industry development model based on open cooperation, resource sharing and collaborative win-win outcomes, providing professional theoretical support for the scaled, high-end and clustered development of Jining’s shipping industry.
Huang Youfang, Chairman of 50SERC
Experts and scholars from national ministries and commissions, research institutions and leading industry enterprises also shared cutting-edge views on key topics such as trends in the water transport industry, deep integration of ports, industries and cities, and the construction of a northern inland shipping center, offering advice and building consensus for the high-quality development of northern inland shipping.
The conference also issued an initiative to all members of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Industrial Alliance, calling for joint efforts to build a green, intelligent, open and win-win inland shipping industrial ecosystem. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Jining Trunk Line Shipping Prosperity Index and Coal Freight Index were released at the event, and Jining’s smart transport system and online freight platform were launched. Three strategic cooperation agreements were reached, and nine cooperation projects, including bulk commodity supply chain integrated services, vessel trading and platform co-construction, were signed.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through Jining for 210 kilometers, and more than 80% of Shandong Province’s high-grade waterways converge here. The CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and the Shandong Provincial People’s Government have entrusted Jining with the major mission of “building a northern inland shipping center”. As a key hub for northern inland shipping and an important node connecting rivers to the sea, Jining is focusing on its positioning as a northern inland shipping center. Following the “5375” development approach, it is building “three 100-million-tonne port clusters” and “seven 10-billion-yuan port-side industrial parks”. The ancient “golden waterway” has transformed into a major economic artery connecting rivers, seas and the world.
Relying on the “丰”-shaped logistics corridor formed by the intersection of the Wari Railway, Xinyan Railway and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Jining has opened 32 container routes, reaching more than 50 ports, 19 countries and 152 domestic cities. Pure electric inland container vessels “made in Jining” have entered the global market. Jining Port has become the first inland port in northern China with annual throughput exceeding 100 million tonnes and has been successfully selected as a port-type national logistics hub carrier city.
