The first Greater Bay Area Port and Shipping Logistics Development Forum and the Fifth China Shipping Industry Innovation Conference were held in Nansha district, Guangzhou on Jan 11, attracting over 300 shipping industry elites to convene and exchange their ideas and insights on modern shipping industry development.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is the world's largest bay area, with its economic aggregate reaching $1.4 trillion. As a core city in the area, Guangzhou is striving to seize the development opportunities and build on its advantages.

Chen Hongxian, Party chief of Guangzhou Port Group, delivers a speech at the first Greater Bay Area Port and Shipping Logistics Development Forum, which was held in Nansha on Jan 11. 

In 2017, Guangzhou Port handled 20.36 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and 590 million tons of cargo, hosting over 400,000 cruise tourists, according to Chen Hongxian, director and Party chief of Guangzhou Port Authority who delivered a speech at the forum. Chen also said that Guangzhou Port has established sister port relationships with 41 ports across the world and is also set to hold the 2019 World Port Conference.  

At a sharing session of the forum, government officials from Guangzhou Port Authority, Nansha development and reform bureau and enterprises representatives from the shipping industry communicated with each other on topics including opportunities of the shipping industry in the Greater Bay Area and innovative development of port and shipping industries.  

On the same day, China Shipping 50 Forum, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting communication in the shipping industry, held its fifth annual summit in Nansha district, Guangzhou. The event will last until Jan 12.

China Shipping 50 Forum holds its fifth annual summit in Nansha district on Jan 11. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]