Opening of the 8th Silk Road Maritime Transport Forum

On September 8, the 8th "Silk Road Maritime" International Cooperation Forum opened in Xiamen, Fujian. The forum was jointly organized by the Xiamen Municipal People's Government, Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Fujian Provincial Department of Transportation, Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce, Fujian Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and the Fujian Provincial Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, with support from the China Institute of Navigation and hosted by Fujian Port Group Co., Ltd.

This year's forum, themed "New Journey of the Silk Road: Harmony and Coexistence—Building a New Pattern of High-Level Open Port, Shipping, and Trade Cooperation," featured a main forum, supporting activities, special forums, the 2026 "Silk Road Maritime" Roundtable Meeting, the 3rd "Silk Road Maritime" Port, Shipping, and Trade Matchmaking Conference, and a media briefing. Over 1,800 representatives from ports, shipping, logistics, trade, finance, and technology sectors across 19 countries and regions attended the event.

The forum announced the official launch of the "Silk Road Maritime" Arctic Route Meteorological Navigation Service. This service relies on Fengyun meteorological satellites to establish an Arctic sea ice observation network, integrating numerical forecasting and AI algorithms to provide daily sea ice forecasts for the next 15 days and dynamic monitoring of polar cyclones. It effectively addresses challenges such as insufficient polar observation coverage and data delays, offering decision-making support for ships to avoid ice conditions and plan safe routes, thereby ensuring the safety of polar navigation.

The forum simultaneously launched the Hunan-Fujian "Silk Road Maritime" sea-rail intermodal transport channel. Hunan and Fujian provinces will deepen collaboration between railways and ports, opening the most convenient route to the sea for central regions. This initiative can save enterprises 20% to 30% in costs, reduce logistics time by 5–7 days, and provide efficient and economical logistics services.

At the forum, the "Silk Road Maritime" Port, Shipping, and Trade Integration Work Report and the "2025-2026 Silk Road Maritime Blue Book" were released, along with collaborative services for Arctic route ship navigation. The forum announced the launch of 12 new "Silk Road Maritime" routes, awarded membership plaques to 15 new "Silk Road Maritime" alliance members, and witnessed the signing and implementation of 11 cooperative projects on-site.

The forum released the "2026-2028 Silk Road Maritime Port and Shipping Development Support Policies." Currently, two rounds of support policies for "Silk Road Maritime" port and shipping development have been issued, with total rewards amounting to 1.126 billion yuan, benefiting over 60 port and shipping enterprises. The new round of support policies will focus on four key areas: container transportation, container sea-rail intermodal transport, container transportation on the Minjiang River, and the cultivation of emerging port and shipping business models.

During the 2026 "Silk Road Maritime" Roundtable Meeting held at the forum, nearly 30 representatives from domestic and international ports, shipping, logistics, technology, and research institutions engaged in in-depth discussions on the theme "New Journey of the Silk Road: Harmony and Coexistence—Building a New Pattern of High-Level Open Port, Shipping, and Trade Cooperation." They unanimously adopted the "2026 Silk Road Maritime Xiamen Initiative," proposing five major cooperation directions: strengthening interconnected networks, deepening integration of port, shipping, and trade resources, promoting digital intelligence empowerment, adhering to green development principles, and jointly building a prosperous ecosystem for port, shipping, and trade coexistence.

Established in 2018, "Silk Road Maritime" is China's first Belt and Road international comprehensive logistics service brand and platform centered on shipping. Alongside the "China-Europe Railway Express" and the "Western Land-Sea New Corridor," it has become an important logistics channel for China's high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Over nearly eight years, the "Silk Road Maritime" golden waterway originating from Fujian has expanded significantly. In March 2021, "Silk Road Maritime" was included in the 14th Five-Year Plan outline for the first time. In March 2026, "Promoting the Integrated Development of Silk Road Maritime Port, Shipping, and Trade" was again written into the 15th Five-Year Plan outline. As of now, "Silk Road Maritime" has established 160 routes, connecting 153 ports in 50 countries and regions worldwide. Alliance members have grown to 393, covering diverse fields such as shipping, energy, manufacturing, and the internet. In the future, "Silk Road Maritime" will further integrate international resources, explore linkage models between ports, cities, industries, and trade, build a smart ecological alliance, and promote integrated development of port, shipping, and trade.