The World Maritime Equipment Conference 2025 opened in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Thursday, aiming to drive global collaboration in maritime equipment innovation.
▲The World Maritime Equipment Conference 2025 opens in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Thursday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
Themed "Setting Sail Toward Green Development", the conference is committed to advancing the vision of a maritime community with a shared future and fostering a sustainable maritime equipment ecosystem.
This year's conference is addressing key maritime equipment sectors, with a focus on industry-wide innovation, trade partnerships and technology transfer to advance the industry's shift toward high-end, green and intelligent development.
The four-day event features a main forum, 13 subforums and activities around the marine economy and tech innovation. Meanwhile, concurrent events include the 3rd China Maritime Equipment Expo, the sustainable maritime innovation symposium under the International Maritime Organization, and a maritime industry integration and innovation competition, showcasing cutting-edge achievements and major advancements in global maritime equipment development.
▲A man photographs a scale model attheWorld Maritime Equipment Conference 2025.PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
The conference has attracted about 800 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, including more than 230 international guests. Among them are senior foreign government officials, heads of international organizations, representatives of leading enterprises and renowned experts and scholars. They will contribute authoritative reports, engage in exchanges and discussions, and share cutting-edge insights to foster in-depth cooperation opportunities, according to organizers.
Hosting the conference represents a key initiative in implementing the national strategy of building China into a maritime powerhouse. It also serves as a concrete measure to accelerate the construction of the national marine economy demonstration zone and advance the high-quality growth of the provincial marine economy, local officials said.
▲Visitors read a display wall featuring Fuzhou at theWorld Maritime Equipment Conference 2025.PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
During the conference, a session is being held to review the progress and future direction of Fujian's efforts to build a national marine economy demonstration zone. The event highlights innovative achievements in Fuzhou and Xiamen, as well as the overall development accomplishments of a "Maritime Fujian".
In response to the central government's strategic plan to accelerate the development of Fuzhou and Xiamen as national marine economy demonstration zones and strengthen the marine economy, Fujian has been advancing its marine sector.
In 2024, the province's gross ocean product exceeded 1.25 trillion yuan ($175 million), accounting for approximately 21.7 percent of its total GDP and ranking third nationwide.
As a core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Fujian is dedicated to building a new highland for high-quality marine economy development, promoting green and intelligent transformation.
The province has built the country's first 5G fully-equipped smart terminal at Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal. Fujian has achieved full automation or intelligent operation systems at all its foreign trade container terminals handling vessels over 150,000 metric tons, while bulk cargo terminals for 300,000-ton-class vessels have also implemented automated handling technology. Smart logistics platforms are widely used at the Xiamen and Fuzhou ports, supported by the launch of the Maritime Silk Road smart container service that enables round-the-clock real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility across the entire logistics chain.
In 2024, sea-rail intermodal transport at Fujian's ports handled 198,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers. The Maritime Silk Road network now includes 150 ports across 48 countries and regions worldwide. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), shore power facilities have covered 75 percent of non-oil and chemical berths in the province's coastal ports, while over 50 percent of port machinery now uses new energy sources. In 2024 alone, shore power usage reached nearly 14 million kilowatt-hours, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 9,600 tons.
