The event was attended by distinguished leaders and guests, including Lin Ji, Party Member and Vice President of COSCO Shipping Group; Sun Wenzhong, General Manager, Vice Chairman, and Party Secretary of Hebei Port Group Co., Ltd.; Tan Wu, Deputy Director-General and Senior Inspector of Guangzhou Customs; Liu Zhuo, Party Member and Deputy Director of the Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection; Xiang Zhezi, Party Member and Discipline Inspection Group Leader of the Pearl River Administration of Navigational Affairs. Mot; Xiao Jibang, Inspector of the Department of Transport of Guangdong Province; Lin Jiyuan, Party Member and Deputy Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangzhou Municipal Government; Luo Jian, Party Member and Vice President of Guangdong Provincial Port and Shipping Group; Li Huawen, Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Maritime Bureau; Ge Qun, Party Secretary and Chairman of China Canton Exchange Group; Song Xiaoming, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Guangzhou Public Transport Group Co.,Ltd.; Wang Wei, Party Secretary and Chairman of Antong Holdings Co., Ltd.; Zhou Bin, President of Shanghai Zhonggu Logistics Co., Ltd.; Huang Zhenzhou, Party Member and Chief Financial Officer of China Merchants Port Group Co., Ltd..

The event was attended by key leaders including Sun Xiuqing, Director of the Guangzhou Port Authority, Wu Yang, Mayor of Nansha District, and Huang Bo, Party Secretary, Chairman and General Manager of Guangzhou Port Group, who also delivered speeches.

The event was organized by the Guangzhou Port Authority, the Administrative Committee of Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone and Guangzhou Port Group Co., Ltd., with the Business Bureau of Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone and Guangzhou Port Co., Ltd. serving as co-organizers. The conference aimed to implement the important directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the development of Guangdong, Guangzhou and ports, strengthen Guangzhou's role as a national central city and a core engine of the Greater Bay Area and promote the high-quality development of the port-industry-city integration. It sought to further build consensus on “Investing in Nansha, Shipping to Nansha and Development on Nansha”, fostering collaboration between government, enterprises, ports and shipping sectors to create a new stage of high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area's port and shipping economy.

According to Huang Bo, Guangzhou Port Group actively plays a strategic, foundational and pioneering role in the development of ports. The Company is driving the synchronized growth of the port with the development of Nansha New Area, the Nansha Free Trade Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Comprehensive Cooperation Demonstration Zone. It is strengthening deep cooperation with shipping and logistics enterprises, coastal ports and industries around the port, forming a development pattern where large ports and logistics drive large industries and platforms. This approach injects new momentum into the construction of the modern coastal city of Guangzhou Nansha while revitalizing the ability of customers to establish themselves in Nansha, integrate into the Greater Bay Area and expand globally. Guangzhou Port Group will continue to deepen all-round cooperation across the logistics chain, the industrial chain and the value chain, jointly build the north-south logistics corridor and the new international land-sea trade route, and enhance the role of these channels in facilitating logistics, trade and industry. The goal is to create an open, inclusive and shared port and shipping logistics ecosystem, providing strong support for Guangzhou's development as an international integrated transportation hub city.

Wu Yang stated that Nansha was born from the sea and thrives because of the sea. In recent years, in advantage of its strategic location at the "heart of the Bay Area" and its open connections with Hong Kong, Macau and the world, Nansha has developed a growth model that integrates port and city development. In the future, Nansha will accelerate the improvement of its integrated port and shipping service system, continuously enhance its role as an international shipping and trade hub and vigorously develop new foreign trade models such as offshore trade, digital trade and cross-border e-commerce. Nansha will also push forward the development of the National Import Trade Promotion Innovation Demonstration Zone and the Comprehensive Bonded Zone, contributing to the creation of a Guangzhou-based national logistics hub for ports in the new journey.

According to Sun Xiuqing, Guangzhou Port will closely align with the decisions and directives of the municipal Party Committee and government, setting high standards as a "trailblazer, leader and locomotive". The Port will continue to ensure the smoothness of Guangzhou's sea lanes, implement 24-hour "zero-wait" pilotage, prioritize the berthing and departure of container vessels and improve the efficiency of container turnover. Efforts will also be made to accelerate the construction of key port and shipping projects, develop world-class port infrastructure and strengthen the building of an internal and external "dual circulation" service network that connects the global and land-sea trade. The Port will continue to enhance policy support and create a world-class business environment for port and shipping enterprises. Moreover, great emphasis will be placed on the implementation of major platforms and projects, such as the Guangzhou Port Economic Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Shipping Joint Trading Center, to provide strong support for enhancing the overall service capabilities of the Greater Bay Area's port cluster.

At the meeting, Guangzhou Port Group signed multiple strategic cooperation framework agreements with COSCO Shipping Group and other central and state-owned enterprises as well as port and shipping partners. In addition, eight port and shipping enterprises jointly launched the "Digital Intelligence Integration, Green Sharing" initiative - a collaborative effort to build a smart and green port and shipping network in the Greater Bay Area, yielding fruitful results.

During the event, Guangzhou Port Authority, Nansha District Management Committee and Nansha Customs introduced new government policies and initiatives aiming at facilitating trade and supporting enterprise development. With a focus on high-quality development and the goal of building a world-class port, the discussions centered on advancing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, implementing such key strategies as the "Nansha Plan", enhancing the international shipping hub capabilities of Guangzhou, improving shipping resource allocation, promoting the development of the Port Economic Zone and fostering new productive forces in the port and shipping sectors. These efforts aimed at strengthening key industrial chains and clusters in the region.

The meeting also hosted the 2024 Annual Guangzhou International Shipping Hub Construction Award Ceremony, where special plaques were awarded to 45 companies that had made significant contributions to the development of Guangzhou's international shipping hub.

Qin Jiangping, Vice President of COSCO Shipping Lines; Pu Yongjia, Director of Maersk; Yao Youjun, President of HOMA; and Wang Haixin, Chairman of Haicheng, representing clients from the Nansha Port Area, reviewed the 20-year history of deep cooperation and mutual development with Nansha Port. They expressed their commitment to further strengthening their partnerships, supporting the development of Nansha Port, jointly serving the market and customers and advancing the cooperation between ports, shipping and enterprises to new heights.

In the end, 15 distinguished guests, including Sun Xiuqing, Director of the Guangzhou Port Authority; Lin Ji, Vice President of COSCO Shipping Group; Tan Wu, Deputy Director-General of Guangzhou Customs; Huang Bo, Chairman of Guangzhou Port Group; Xiang Zhezi, Discipline Inspection Group Leader of the Pearl River Administration of Navigational Affairs. Mot; Liu Zhuo, Deputy Chief of Guangzhou Border Inspection Station; Xiao Jibang, Inspector of the Provincial Department of Transport; Lin Jiyuan, Deputy Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangzhou Municipal Government; Xing Hua, Deputy Director of the Nansha District Management Committee; Ge Qun, Chairman of China Canton Exchange Group; Song Xiaoming, General Manager of Guangzhou Public Transport Group Co.,Ltd.; Li Huawen, Deputy Director of Guangzhou Maritime Bureau; Zhang Yihong, Director of China Railway Guangzhou Group Co.，Ltd.; Wang Wei, Chairman of Antong Holdings; and Zhou Bin, President of Shanghai Zhonggu Logistics Co., Ltd., took to the stage to jointly press the launch button. A container bearing the celebratory banner "The 20 Millionth Standard Container of Nansha Port in 2024" was hoisted onto the "COSCO Atlantic" vessel of COSCO Shipping, signaling that Nansha Port's container throughput had reached 20 million TEUs. This milestone marks a new level in the construction of Guangzhou's international shipping hub. As a key international container hub port and the largest domestic trade container hub in China, Guangzhou Port has further enhanced its global position and strengthened its ability to serve national strategies and regional economic development. (Text by Liu Rui, Cao Chang and Zhuang Zeyu; Picture by event organizers and Port Media)