Shipping alliance to facilitate Yangtze River Economic Belt

The Yangtze River Economic Belt Shipping Alliance was established in Shanghai on July 29, 2017 to integrate shipping resources in different regions and boost economic prosperity along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The newly found alliance will be a non-profit organization committed to developing the Yangtze River shipping industry in a green and sustainable way. It will expand water channels, connect port cities, simplify customs procedures, lower logistics costs, and stimulate trade and commerce along the economic belt.

The alliance will serve as an important platform for cities and enterprises alike, said Zhou Bo, deputy mayor of Shanghai municipality, when speaking at the launching ceremony.

According to Zhou, Shanghai enterprises shall stand out and serve well in their respective areas, making more contributions to this course.

Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), one of the alliance founders and the biggest port operator in Chinese mainland, sees the alliance as a big opportunity to optimize the country's shipping industry, and Shanghai, an international shipping hub, will play a leading role in this process.

The alliance will focus on the saving of logistics costs, the sharing of shipping information, the transit between river and sea routes, the standardization and unification of ship sizes, the building of a high-efficient shipping network, and the establishment of a fair and sustainable market.

Founders of the alliance are five shipping enterprises, including Changjiang National Shipping Group, and nine state-owned port groups, located respectively in Shanghai, Ningbo, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Anhui, Jinagxi, Hunan, and Sichuan.

The Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, drains one-fifth of the land area of China and boasts the largest shipping volume in the world. The Yangtze River Economic Belt accounts for over 40 percent of both the national population and GDP.

Source: chinanews.com