On September 1, the core operation area of Quanzhou Port in Fujian was very lively, and two 100,000-ton container berths were under construction. After the completion of the project, this once “the largest port in the east” will reproduce the grand scene of “the port opening thousands of miles”.
Quanzhou Port is the starting point of the ancient Chinese Maritime Silk Road. Historically, the “Maritime Silk Road” was an important link for the countries along the route to rely on maritime mutually beneficial cooperation. General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the initiative to build a maritime community with a shared future and build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. China has continued to strengthen the construction of ports and shipping routes, and the space for maritime cooperation with countries along the route has continued to expand. According to data released by the Ministry of Transport recently, by the end of 2021, China has established shipping routes with major ports in more than 100 countries and regions, making it the country with the highest maritime connectivity in the world and a hub in the global shipping and logistics system. constantly improving. In 2021, China’s port cargo throughput and container throughput will both rank first in the world.
A port is an important gateway for a country’s foreign trade and an important commercial channel. At present, the large-scale water transportation system with smooth internal and external connections has effectively guaranteed China to become the world’s largest trader of goods and the world’s second largest economy.
As the core area for the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Fujian Province has continuously strengthened the construction of land and sea passages in recent years. At present, nearly 300 container liner routes have been opened, reaching more than 50 countries and regions. Among them, “Silk Road Shipping”, as China’s first shipping-themed “One Belt, One Road” international integrated logistics service brand and platform, was established in Xiamen in 2019, with more than 250 members and more than 80 routes, reaching 29 more than 100 ports in 10 countries. Every day, goods from China and other places are shipped all over the world via the “Silk Road Shipping” route.
Last year, Shanghai Port’s container throughput exceeded 47 million TEUs, ranking first in the world for 12 consecutive years. The fourth phase of Shanghai Yangshan Port Automated Container Terminal, which was put into operation in 2017, has the highest degree of automation among all terminals in Shanghai. It is also the largest and most intelligent container terminal in the world at present. It has realized the automation of the whole business and the intelligence of the core business for the first time in the global port industry.
In recent years, with the development of technology, automation and intelligence have become a major trend in the development of my country’s ports. According to official data from the Ministry of Transport, in the first half of this year, the digitalization and networking of China’s water transport infrastructure continued to improve, and the number of automated terminals built and under construction ranked first in the world.
Under the background of “carbon neutrality”, green and low-carbon has become an important trend in port development in the new era, and more and more clean energy and green and low-carbon technologies have been applied in various ports in China. Tianjin Port’s smart green energy system adopts the model of “self-generated and self-used, and surplus electricity is connected to the grid”. The annual total power generation can reach 23.302 million kWh, and about 7,340 tons of standard coal can be saved in one year. In addition, within the scope of Tianjin Port Area, it has also innovated to build China’s first intelligent monitoring platform for port ecological environment and atmosphere, making every effort to protect the blue coast of the port area.
In addition to wind and solar energy, hydrogen energy has also begun to be applied in Chinese ports as an emerging clean energy. As early as 2020, the fully automated container terminal of Qingdao Port in Shandong Province realized the world’s first application of hydrogen fuel cells on port rail cranes.
With the continuous advancement of greening and intelligentization, Chinese ports are moving towards high-quality development, the service level has been significantly improved, and route links have been established with more countries and regions. It not only drives the local economic development, but also writes a new legend of the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”.
