From June 26 to 28, the 8th Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Forum was successfully held in Ningbo International Conference Center. This forum was sponsored by Ningbo Municipal People's Government, Department of Transport of Zhejiang Province, Department of Marine Economy Development of Zhejiang Province and co-hosted by Zhejiang Seaport Group and Ningbo Zhoushan Port, with the theme of "Enhancing Shipping Service Energy Level: Working Together to Build an Important 'Belt and Road Initiative' Shipping Hub of Openness and Connectivity". Over 1,600 guests from nearly 40 countries and regions gathered in Ningbo to attended this forum. Mr. PENG Jiaxue, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and Secretary of CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee, and Mr. YE Zhengbo, Vice Chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

On behalf of CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee and Ningbo Municipal People's Government, Mr. PENG Jiaxue expresses his heartfelt thanks to people from all circles who had always cared about and supported Ningbo's modernization. He pointed out that the Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Forum had been held in Ningbo since 2015, and we had together witnessed the vibrant and stable development of the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road. This forum was not only a grand event of the global shipping industry, but also a concreate action in enhancing openness and cooperation and promoting the development of a community with a shared future for mankind. He mentioned that Ningbo would implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, uphold the Silk Road spirit, and keep firmly in mind the guidance of "becoming a brave forerunner and create new chapters" on the journey of the Chinese modernization; build big ports, develop large-scale intelligent manufacturing industry, promote grand-scale openness and build a big metropolitan; provide service for the world with our sheer forces; work together with friends around the globe to promote "hard connectivity" in infrastructure, "soft connectivity" in regulations and standards, and "people-to-people connectivity" in cultural exchanges, and propel opportunities and prosperity. He welcomed friends around the globe to pay attention to and invest in Ningbo, share the development opportunities, actively occupy the new blue sea of digital, intelligent, new-energy and internationalized development. Ningbo would also create a more excellent business environment, and provide quality service and guarantee for all businessmen.

The topics of the forum this time were related closely to the hotspots of shipping industry, and had yielded fruitful results, including the release of the Joint Statement of the Maritime Silk Road Port and Shipping High-Level Roundtable, Blue Book on the Development of Ningbo Zhoushan International Shipping Center, and 3 industry research reports. A series of cooperative programmes were also signed during the event.

At the invitation of Ningbo, representatives from Ningbo's international friendship cities and ports attended the activities of the forum, including Rouen (France), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Nelson Mandela Bay (South Africa), Cotonou (Benin), Djibouti (capital city of Djibouti), Busan (South Korea), Haiphong (Vietnam), Arica y Parinacota Region (Chile), and so on. Many diplomats attended the relevant activities of this forum, including H.E. Mr. John Busuttil, Ambassador of Malta to China, H.E. Mr. Robert Lee Ambassador of Fiji to China, H.E. Muhannad Alnaqbi, Consul General of the UAE in Shanghai, Mr. Vladislav Spasov, Consul General of Bulgaria in Shanghai, Mr. Mikael Hemniti Winther, Consul General of Denmark in Shanghai), and consular officials of the UK and other countries in Shanghai.

Mr. YE Rongzhong, Secretary of Party Leadership Group of Ningbo Foreign Affairs Office and Level Ⅰ Bureau Rank Official, attended the opening ceremony of the forum, and met with representatives from Ningbo's international friendship cities and consular officials.