The gap between Shanghai International Shipping Center's global ranking and the top two has once again narrowed, and we are striving to catch up with the courage to lead the world
On September 22nd, despite the drizzling rain, it was difficult to dampen the enthusiasm of Chinese and foreign guests for the 2023 North Bund International Shipping Forum. Many international shipping organization leaders who could only be seen through videos in the past appeared at the forum.
"Please take good care of me in the future." At the forum, Liu Yang, the chief representative of the China Office of the International Chamber of Shipping, shook hands with representatives from the Shanghai government, shipping institutions, and enterprises. Because this year, the Shanghai Representative Office of the International Chamber of Shipping was established, Shanghai will become another "home" for the International Chamber of Shipping.
"The headquarters of the International Shipping Association is in London, and the traditional shipping market is dominated by Europe. However, the focus of the global shipping industry is gradually shifting eastward, and the Asian market, with China as the main body, has become the most important market. The International Shipping Association previously established its first overseas office in Hong Kong, China. Now, seeing that in recent years, especially after the North Bund International Shipping Forum, various resource elements of the Shanghai International Shipping Center have further gathered, we feel that coming to Shanghai is inevitable," said Liu Yang.
He hopes that the International Shipping Association can better play a bridging role in Shanghai, bringing the voice of the world shipping industry to China, as well as the voices of Shanghai and China to the world.
The world needs the voice of Shanghai not only because of its position and size as an international shipping center, but also because Shanghai is leading the innovative development of the global shipping industry in more and more fields.
At the 2022 North Bund International Shipping Forum, Shanghai Airlines Exchange participated in the launch of the Shanghai International Container Space Trading Platform; In August this year, the Shanghai Airlines Exchange participated in the launch of consolidation index futures; At the opening ceremony of the 2023 North Bund Shipping Forum, the Shanghai Stock Exchange participated in the release of the model international container transport index linkage agreement as an important achievement.
"From spot trading products, to futures trading products, to index linked agreement templates, these are all aimed at stabilizing the container transportation market, reducing cyclical fluctuations in freight rates and risks in the trading process." Liu Yue, Vice President of the Shanghai Airlines Exchange, told reporters that when people have differences about the future prices of the shipping market, choosing to use futures prices as a reference and directly link to the index can avoid significant cost fluctuations.
The consolidation index futures are not only China's first shipping futures product, but also the world's first. Launching this innovative product requires tremendous courage - people's biggest concern about it is whether its benchmark index is stable, whether the futures can achieve the function of stabilizing market expectations, rather than amplifying price fluctuations in the shipping market. From the current operating situation of the futures market after its full month of listing, the overall operation is stable and in line with expectations.
In the past, shipping financial services have always been a weakness in the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center. Now, Shanghai has finally taken a solid step forward. For this day, domestic financial and shipping professionals have been eagerly anticipating and working hard for 20 years. "In the past few years, we have hardly had any rest days," Liu Yue told reporters. In a light sentence, it highlights the hard work behind Shanghai International Shipping Center's efforts to fill its gaps and benchmark against world-class standards.
It is precisely because of the courage to lead the world and unremitting efforts that in the just released Xinhua Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index Report, Shanghai International Shipping Center has ranked third globally for four consecutive years, and the gap with the top two Singapore and London has been narrowing year by year.
"In recent years, Shanghai has continued to make efforts in areas such as shipping finance and shipping legal services. For example, in the field of shipping insurance, the latest data shows that China's share of maritime cargo insurance has reached 14% of the world, the highest proportion, and Shanghai is undoubtedly the most important gathering place for China's maritime insurance." Xu Chen, Executive Editor of the "Xinhua Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index Report," told reporters.
In his view, the construction of international shipping centers in Singapore, London, and Shanghai each has its own characteristics. In the future, Shanghai International Shipping Center needs to further strengthen its advantages, fill its shortcomings, continuously improve the level of high-end shipping services, and contribute more Shanghai wisdom to the green and intelligent development of the shipping industry.