On April 23, Yiwu held a promotion meeting for Yiwu Port, the sixth port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, to promote the first inland port away from the berths of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. More than 100 entrepreneurs in the shipping industry from over 20 world-renowned shipping companies and shipping agencies—including ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Ltd., Evergreen Marine Co., Ltd., Matson Navigation Co., Ltd., Dubai Ports World, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd.—gathered in Yiwu to jointly improve port functions and integrate shipping resources to Yiwu, co-constructing the sixth port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.

At the meeting, Yang Weiqiang, deputy director of the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration; Tao Chengbo, general manager and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Zhejiang Seaport Group and the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group; and Lin Yi, secretary of the Yiwu Municipal Party Committee, delivered speeches. Wang Jian, mayor of Yiwu, presided over the meeting. The head of the business department of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. introduced the business-related situation and the development plan of Yiwu Port, and the head of the Yiwu Market Development Commission introduced the support policies of Yiwu Port.

Tao Chengbo said that Zhejiang Seaport Group will extend the seaport functions of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to Yiwu’s inland port and build four major platforms: an international logistics services platform, a platform that shares logistics information, a platform that offers value-added services for supply chains, and a platform that demonstrates inland port innovation. By breaking past the geographical limitations of Yiwu Port, a new business form of inland port logistics will soon be created. This project will also deepen the all-around cooperation with the Yiwu Municipal Party Committee and the Yiwu Government, which will assist with information exchange and resource sharing, and help Yiwu become the world’s capital of small commodities with high quality.

Lin Yi pointed out that building the sixth port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is an important measure to implement the instructions of President Xi Jinping of adhering to first-class standards in building Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to a world-class level, and practice the decision-making and deployment of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. So far, Yiwu is making every effort to enhance the influence of Yiwu Port, improve its services and resource allocation, and equip the sixth port area with excellent service quality and complete facilities. Yiwu will take digital reform as the driving force to build a service network that covers the central and western parts of Zhejiang, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the hinterland, making the sixth port area an even more important hub for the westward extension of the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan Corridor.

Zhejiang regards this port construction as the main force of building a strategic hub for domestic circulation as well as domestic and international dual circulation. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, which offers distinct geographical advantages for the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan Corridor, has always played an important role in national strategic plans, such as the joint construction of the Belt and Road, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. As an important city for China’s international trade, Yiwu is associated with 2 million medium-sized, small, and micro companies across the country, and has trade relations with 233 countries and regions. As an important source of goods and the bridgehead of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Yiwu’s export containers account for about one-seventh of all those at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.

At the promotion meeting, the heads of COSCO Shipping Co., Ltd., ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., Evergreen Marine Co., Ltd., and Dubai Global Ports, and more delivered speeches.

A signing ceremony was also held during the meeting. Zhejiang Yiwu Port Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with COSCO Shipping Logistics (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.; Yiwu International Land Port Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Ningbo Longxing Logistics Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Yinghe International Logistics Co., Ltd. (By Wang Ting, translated by Wei Han, edited by Kendra Fiddler)