The State Council Information Office held a press conference at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Vice Minister of Transport Li Xinghu, Director of the Water Transport Bureau Yang Huaxiong, Director of the Maritime Safety Administration Xu Wei, and Director of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau Wang Lei were invited to introduce the progress in promoting high-quality development of water transport and answer questions from reporters.
Zhou Jianshe, Deputy Director and Spokesperson of the State Council Information Office News Bureau:
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office. Today, we have invited Mr. Li Xinghu, Vice Minister of Transport, to introduce the relevant situation regarding the promotion of high-quality development of water transport and to answer questions of your concern. Also attending today’s press conference are Mr. Yang Huaxiong, Director of the Water Transport Bureau; Mr. Xu Wei, Director of the Maritime Safety Administration; and Mr. Wang Lei, Director of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau.
Now, let’s invite Mr. Li Xinghu to make an introduction.
Li Xinghu, Vice Minister of Transport:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. I am very pleased to meet you all here. Thank you for your concern and support for the development of the transportation industry. Taking this opportunity, I would like to brief you on the relevant situation regarding the high-quality development of water transport.
Water transport is an important component of the comprehensive transportation system. In 2025, China’s waterway cargo turnover reached nearly 15 trillion ton-kilometers, accounting for more than half of the comprehensive transportation system, providing strong support for serving and ensuring economic and social development and the implementation of major national strategies. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China’s water transport industry has achieved historic accomplishments and breakthrough progress. Here, I will mainly introduce the achievements in five aspects.
First, water transport infrastructure has reached a new level. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, 469 new berths of 10,000-ton class and above were added nationwide, reaching a total of 3,061. Three world-class port clusters in the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have been basically established. The mileage of high-grade waterways increased by 2,500 kilometers, reaching 18,500 kilometers. A number of major projects such as the Pinglu Canal were implemented. The waterway regulation project for a 6-meter deep channel in the Wuhan to Anqing section of the Yangtze River mainline was completed, the construction of the new Three Gorges water transport channel was initiated, and bottlenecks and blockages in inland waterways are being accelerated.
Second, transport services have achieved new breakthroughs. China’s international maritime shipping volume accounts for one-third of the global total. In 2025, China’s port cargo throughput was 18.3 billion tons, container throughput was 354 million TEUs, and the scale of China’s merchant fleet reached 490 million deadweight tons, all ranking first in the world. Among the top 10 ports globally in terms of cargo throughput, 8 are Chinese ports; among the top 10 ports globally in terms of container throughput, 6 are Chinese ports. To use more intuitive figures, China’s ports handle over 50 million tons of cargo and 970,000 TEUs of containers daily. There are 98,200 ship movements in and out of ports daily, including 1,236 international voyages. Meanwhile, the trend towards standardization and larger size for inland river vessels is evident, with an average tonnage of 1,982 tons, an increase of 37.4% compared to 2020. In 2025, the national port container rail-water intermodal transport volume reached 13.49 million TEUs, nearly doubling compared to 2020.
Third, transformation and upgrading have taken new steps. A total of 60 automated terminals have been built and put into operation nationwide, including 30 automated container terminals, accounting for 27% of the global total. The fastest single-crane operating efficiency at the automated terminals of Shanghai Port and Qingdao Port exceeds 60 natural boxes per hour, representing the highest level of port handling efficiency in the world. The average port stay time for international container ships at major coastal ports is 1.7 days, which is 0.64 days less than major foreign ports. Among them, the port stay time for container ships at Xiamen Port does not exceed 1 day. The published mileage of national electronic waterway charts is nearly 20,000 kilometers, basically forming a “one map” of the Yangtze River water system electronic waterways connecting main and tributary streams and integrating rivers and seas. Chinese shipowners possess over 1,500 new energy and clean energy vessels, ranking among the top in the world in scale.
Fourth, opening up and cooperation have opened up new prospects. A total of 74 bilateral and multilateral maritime transport agreements have been signed, and a formal maritime cooperation mechanism with African countries has been established for the first time. The establishment of an International Green Shipping Corridor Alliance is being promoted, advancing cooperation on 22 international green shipping corridors. The construction of the Maritime Silk Road has achieved remarkable results. The completion and operation of the Chancay Port in Peru has become a landmark achievement of the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2025, China was elected as a Category A member of the International Maritime Organization for the 19th consecutive time with the highest number of votes.
Fifth, governance capacity has reached a new level. Important laws and regulations such as the Maritime Code, the Maritime Traffic Safety Law, and the Regulations on International Maritime Transport have been revised. A total of 245 technical standards for water transport engineering have been issued. Mutual recognition of national ship inspection has been implemented, allowing over 10,000 ships to apply for, undergo, and obtain operational inspection certificates nearby, saving social costs of over 150 million yuan. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China Classification Society. Through the efforts of generations of ship surveyors, the total fleet tonnage surveyed by CCS has reached 220 million gross tons, ranking fifth in the world and placing it among the world’s first-class classification societies. Our maritime search and rescue capabilities have been significantly enhanced. The emergency response time within key waters 100 nautical miles offshore does not exceed 90 minutes, the air rescue radius has been extended to 200 nautical miles, and the search radius reaches 500 nautical miles.
Looking ahead, during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China’s water transport industry will enter a new stage of modernization development, characterized by a leap in building world-class ports, a critical period for strengthening the connectivity of the inland water transport system, and a crucial period for building an international maritime transport safety development system. We will anchor the strategic goal of accelerating the building of a strong transportation nation, follow the development concept of “One Network, Four Modernizations,” closely focus on perfecting the modern comprehensive transportation system, strive to promote integrated development, safety enhancement, digital and intelligent upgrading, and green transformation, accelerate the construction of a modern water transport system, and provide strong support for achieving decisive progress in basically realizing socialist modernization.
I will stop here for now. Thank you.
Zhou Jianshe:
Thank you, Mr. Li Xinghu, for your introduction. Now, the floor is open for questions. Please state the name of your news organization before asking a question.
Reporter from China Central Television (CCTV):
This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan. What new ideas and highlights will there be for China’s maritime safety assurance work during the 15th Five-Year Plan period? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will ask Comrade Xu Wei from the Maritime Safety Administration to answer this question.
Xu Wei, Director of the Maritime Safety Administration:
The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical period for laying a solid foundation and making comprehensive efforts in the construction of a modern maritime system. We will focus on the overall goal of “basically building a modern maritime supervision, service, and assurance system compatible with the construction of a strong transportation nation” and promote six key areas of work. To summarize, it is to strengthen two core functions, integrally promote maritime traffic safety supervision and serving economic and social development, and ensure high-quality development with high-level safety. To achieve two innovative breakthroughs, build smart maritime systems internally and promote the development of green and intelligent shipping externally, accelerating the formation of new productive forces. To enhance two key capabilities, coordinately advance the construction of modern equipment and facilities systems and professional talent teams, building a first-class maritime iron army with strong capabilities.
To this end, we will implement a number of landmark projects, namely building intelligent vessel traffic service systems, large maritime patrol vessels, systematic unmanned maritime and aerial equipment, and comprehensive three-dimensional supervision and law enforcement forces integrating multiple satellite resources. We will resolutely curb major and extremely serious maritime traffic accidents, continuously reduce the number of maritime traffic accidents, and push the core indicators of maritime traffic safety to internationally advanced levels. By 2030, we strive for China’s maritime modernization level to be among the world’s top, achieving “three significant enhancements.” First, a significant enhancement in safety assurance capability, building a risk early warning and prevention and control system that “balances sudden dynamic risk monitoring with long-term risk trend assessment,” a safety management system that “coordinates shore-based supervision and control with on-site ship management,” and a digital and intelligent supervision system that “emphasizes both intelligent prevention and technical prevention,” achieving a fundamental and comprehensive improvement in maritime traffic safety governance. Second, a significant enhancement in development promotion capability, focusing on the smooth flow of logistics and supply chains and the development of the marine economy, shaping a new pattern for China’s coastal navigation, building a modern navigation assurance system, and effectively promoting domestic and international circulation and regional coordinated development. Third, a significant enhancement in benefiting people’s livelihood capability, closely focusing on the urgent needs and concerns of the people, improving the unified national maritime online comprehensive service platform, promoting “efficient completion of one thing” in the maritime field, and fully protecting the legitimate rights and interests of shipping enterprises and practitioners.
Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Let me add a few points to this question. As the saying goes, “sailing and riding horses carry three parts of risk.” Water transport has always been one of the areas with the highest safety risks in the transportation industry. China’s maritime safety assurance field has two major systems. One is the maritime system, which Director Xu Wei just introduced. The other is the rescue and salvage system. They have long been rooted in our country’s blue territory, providing solid guarantees for everyone’s safety in water travel, operations, and leisure activities. At the same time, these two teams are also important forces serving the high-quality development of China’s shipping industry. Here, I would like to share two sets of data with you.
First, in terms of serving the port and shipping economy, the maritime system efficiently ensured the entry and exit of 35.84 million ships, 20.7 billion tons of cargo, and 354 million standard containers into and out of China’s ports last year, ensuring the safe travel of 550 million passengers by water.
Another aspect is maritime emergency search and rescue. Our maritime rescue capabilities have significantly improved. Last year, the rescue and salvage system organized and coordinated 1,493 search and rescue operations, dispatched 9,742 rescue vessels and 518 aircraft; successfully rescued 819 distressed vessels, both Chinese and foreign, and 6,683 persons in distress, with a rescue success rate of 96%. It is precisely through the joint efforts of everyone that the maritime safety situation has greatly improved. The number of water traffic accidents involving Chinese transport vessels last year decreased by 39.4% year-on-year, the number of deaths and missing persons decreased by 19%, and the number of sunken vessels decreased by 20%.
During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, we will adhere to putting people first and life first, coordinate development and safety, and continuously improve China’s maritime safety supervision and rescue and salvage capabilities.
Regarding the situation of maritime safety assurance, Director Xu Wei just briefed you. For the situation of rescue and salvage, I invite Comrade Wang Lei from the Rescue and Salvage Bureau to provide some supplementary information.
Director of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau, Wang Lei:
I will supplement the aspect of maritime emergency support. During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, we focus on two priorities: enhancing the core capabilities of deep-sea rescue and salvage, and developing new quality productive forces in the rescue and salvage field. Centered on the three dimensions of full coverage, rapid response, and efficient disposal, we will build an efficient aerial rescue system in the air, composed mainly of medium-to-long-range fixed-wing aircraft, ultra-medium-sized rescue helicopters, and UAVs, combining long and short ranges, high and low altitudes; build a rescue vessel system on the water surface featuring “large, medium, and small vessels complementing each other, combining fast and high-speed, with manned and unmanned coordination”; and build an unmanned intelligent rescue and salvage equipment system underwater, including full-ocean-depth, full-system, cross-regional linked unmanned submersibles and autonomous underwater vehicles, to comprehensively enhance the “sea-air” emergency support capability.
By the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, China’s professional maritime rescue and salvage teams will achieve an emergency arrival time of less than 90 minutes within 100 nautical miles offshore, and the overall salvage capability for sunken ships in water depths shallower than 100 meters will be increased from the current 80,000 tons to 150,000 tons. Thank you!
Reporter from Changjiang Daily:
We understand that the Pinglu Canal will be completed and put into trial navigation in September this year. Not long ago, the Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel project officially started construction. Could you please introduce which other major water transport projects are noteworthy and what their construction progress is? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will ask Director Yang Huaxiong from the Water Transport Bureau to answer this question.
Director of the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, Yang Huaxiong:
Okay, thank you, journalist friend. Your question shows that you are very concerned about water transport engineering construction.
The Pinglu Canal is a backbone project of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and a landmark project for building China into a country with strong transportation network. The Pinglu Canal starts from Pingtang River Estuary in Hengzhou City, Nanning, Guangxi in the north, and ends at Shajing in Qinzhou City in the south, with a total length of 134.2 kilometers. This project is constructed according to the standard of a first-class inland waterway, capable of navigating 5,000-ton vessels, with a total construction period of 52 months. The main works of the Pinglu Canal started construction on May 23, 2023, and are now basically completed and have achieved full-line water flow. The water-filling commissioning of the ship locks is being carried out as planned.
On June 8 this year, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel was held in Yichang, Hubei. This is the first national major landmark project to start construction during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. The Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel project includes two parts: the new Three Gorges枢纽 channel and the Gezhouba Navigation Capacity Expansion Project. The main construction content of the new Three Gorges枢纽 channel is the construction of a new double-line continuous five-stage ship lock, with a total construction period of 112 months. The main construction content of the Gezhouba Navigation Capacity Expansion Project is the construction of a new double-line single-stage ship lock, with a total construction period of 95 months. After the project is completed, the two-way navigation capacity of the Three Gorges枢纽 will reach 336 million tons, and the two-way navigation capacity of the Gezhouba枢纽 will reach 360 million tons, allowing the navigation of 10,000-ton vessels. This will significantly enhance the shipping efficiency of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River.
Currently, a batch of landmark water transport projects represented by the Pinglu Canal and the Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel are being accelerated. Other major water transport projects are also progressing in an orderly manner.
First, the trunk waterways are accelerating quality improvement and capacity expansion. Currently, the main works of the second phase of the Jingjiang River section waterway project in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River have been completed, allowing 5,000-ton vessels to reach Chongqing directly year-round. The second phase of the South Channel waterway regulation project at the Yangtze River Estuary also started construction on May 26 this year. After completion, it will allow 5,000-ton vessels to navigate during all tides. Additionally, the 3,000-ton waterway project from Nanning to Guigang on the Xijiang River shipping trunk line is also under accelerated construction. After completion, 3,000-ton vessels will be able to navigate the entire Xijiang trunk line.
Second, important tributary waterways are accelerating upgrading and improvement. After the completion of the Yuanhe River waterway upgrading project in Jiangxi, it will allow the navigation of 1,000-ton vessels. The Minjiang River Navigation-Power Comprehensive Development Project in Sichuan includes four cascade hubs and an 81-kilometer waterway regulation project on the Minjiang River, expected to be fully completed and opened to navigation by 2030. After completion, the section of the Minjiang River from Leshan to Yibin will allow the year-round passage of 1,000-ton vessels.
Third, bottlenecks and choke points in inland water transport are being continuously cleared. The Baima Navigation-Power Hub Project on the Wujiang River is under accelerated construction. After completion, it will open the “last mile” for the Chongqing-Guizhou region to enter the Yangtze River via waterway. The navigation facilities of the Baise Water Control Project are progressing in an orderly manner. After completion, the Youjiang River will achieve full-line resumption of navigation. The 1,000-ton navigation structure project of the Longtan Hydropower Station on the Hongshui River has started construction. After completion, the Hongshui River will achieve full-line resumption of navigation.
It is expected that during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, the construction of inland waterways nationwide will further accelerate. We will promote the capacity expansion of trunk waterways, continuously clear bottlenecks and choke points, and persistently improve the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. Thank you all!
Reporter from Yangcheng Evening News:
At the end of last year, the “Opinions on Strengthening Inland Waterway Traffic Safety Work” was open for public comment. Could you please introduce the relevant situation? What role will the “Opinions” play in promoting inland waterway traffic safety work? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will ask Comrade Xu Wei from the Maritime Safety Administration to answer this question.
Xu Wei:
Inland waterway traffic is an important part of the comprehensive transportation system. In 2025, the cargo throughput of China’s inland river ports exceeded 6.7 billion tons, and passenger traffic reached 327 million person-trips. In recent years, the overall safety situation of inland waterway traffic has remained stable.
To deeply implement the important instructions and directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping and systematically improve the governance level of inland waterway traffic safety, the “Opinions on Strengthening Inland Waterway Traffic Safety Work” has been approved by the State Council and will be formally issued soon. The main content can be summarized as “one main line, two phased goals, and four major projects, four major actions”.
The “one main line” is to always adhere to putting people first and life first, and to escort the high-quality development of inland waterway shipping with high-level safety.
The “two phased goals” are: by 2030, the intrinsic safety level, management level, and emergency response capability of inland waterway traffic will be greatly improved, forming a new pattern of inland waterway traffic safety that is safe and reliable, with efficient supervision and strong support, and the number of accidents will decrease by more than 50% year-on-year. By 2035, the scale and quality of inland waterway transportation infrastructure, technical equipment, and intelligent green level will be among the best in the world, and the overall safety resilience will leap forward.
In the near term, we will focus on promoting the “four major projects” and “four major actions”. The “four major projects” refer to the project to improve ship safety performance, the project to enhance the professional competence of practitioners, the project to upgrade shipping supporting facilities, and the project to improve emergency response capabilities. The “four major actions” refer to the action to enhance regulatory capacity, the action to improve passenger transport safety resilience, the action for green, intelligent, and safe development, and the action to improve enterprise safety management. A total of 71 key tasks have been deployed, including comprehensively improving the wind resistance and anti-sinking performance of inland river vessels, fully implementing the passenger ship manifest departure system, and fully implementing the system for enterprise leaders to regularly accompany ships and be on duty. By the end of this year, a severe weather warning and response mechanism for passenger routes should be fully established at the prefectural and municipal level; the safety conditions of passenger routes and ferry crossings should be comprehensively assessed, and those failing the assessment should be completely shut down. By the end of next year, effective coverage of maritime emergency standby points in key water-related counties (cities, districts, banners) should be achieved. The emergency response force arrival time for major inland river ports and key navigational sections should be reduced to within 45 minutes as soon as possible.
On the basis of comprehensively implementing relevant hard management measures, the “Opinions” emphasize that “provinces bear overall responsibility, cities and counties implement”, and clearly require that by the end of this year, a safety work responsibility system for key inland waterway traffic areas led by government leaders at the provincial, city, county, and township levels be fully established, clarifying the responsibilities for inland waterway traffic safety management in various waters.
In the next step, we will continue to do a good job in the publicity, interpretation, and business guidance of the “Opinions”, promote local people’s governments to adapt measures to local conditions and refine the implementation of various work measures with a “one province, one policy” approach, and resolutely build a solid defense line for inland waterway traffic safety, making inland waterway travel and tourism for the people safer, smoother, and more convenient. Thank you!
Reporter from Shangyou News:
During the flood season and the typhoon-prone season, transportation is a key area for defense. Currently, it seems there is still quite a lot of rainfall this year. What key measures will the transportation department take this year to prevent floods and typhoons? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will answer this question.
As you said, transportation is a key area for flood and typhoon prevention. Currently, various parts of the country have successively entered the main flood season. The transportation department is seriously implementing the important directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping, focusing on the “pre-event prevention” work of transportation disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief, and making every effort to ensure the safe and stable operation of the industry. We have focused on carrying out work in five aspects:
First, adhere to the principle of proactive defense by moving the threshold forward. Formulate and issue the “Proactive Defense Measures for Heavy Rainfall, Typhoons, Low-Temperature Rain, Snow, and Ice Disasters in the Transportation Sector,” specifying the concrete measures and requirements for “response, patrol, and control” according to different disaster weather scenarios.
Second, strengthen disaster weather monitoring and dispatch. Maintain close cooperation with the National Meteorological Centre and other departments, adhering to the working mechanism of “daily consultation, weekly briefing, monthly reminder, and quarterly assessment.” Closely monitor disaster weather, critical periods, key areas, key parts, and weak links for dispatch. Dynamically assess industry operational risks, ensuring dispatch follows risks and early warnings, and provide pre-disaster reminders during the flood season.
Third, highlight risk management and control for continuous rainfall. Deploy and implement highway safety risk management and control in high-risk areas for continuous rainfall. At the county and district level, comprehensively consider factors such as the number of precipitation days and cumulative rainfall to delineate Category I and Category II high-risk areas for continuous rainfall, updating them dynamically. For expressways and key ordinary highways in Category I high-risk areas, conduct patrols at a frequency of no less than once every two hours.
Fourth, focus on the investigation and rectification of major risks and hazards. Starting from April, divide the country into three regions—southern, central, and northern—and sequentially carry out the investigation and rectification of major risks and hazards for transportation production safety during the flood season and summer period from south to north. As of yesterday, a total of 974,000 entities had been investigated, with a rectification rate of 98.9% for discovered major hazards. For those not yet rectified, upgraded control measures have been urged for implementation. We have also implemented holiday upgraded control for 13 major hazard sources in 7 categories, gradually establishing a five-level control system covering the ministry, provinces, cities, counties, and over 26,000 enterprises.
Fifth, strive to enhance intrinsic safety levels. For highways, implement the “133” flood prevention work measures, i.e., dynamically update and improve a “single list” of risks and hazards; strengthen the “three mechanisms” of disaster weather defense and response, patrol and operational monitoring, and graded and classified traffic control; and enhance the “three capabilities” of monitoring, perception, and /interception, force pre-positioning and emergency response, and intrinsic safety. For water transport, specifically implement the investigation and rectification of safety hazards for passenger transport on water, urging all localities to address identified issues; carry out a special action to enhance the intrinsic safety of shipping hub dams; and deeply promote special actions for the safety improvement of major hazard source management for dangerous goods at port enterprises, thereby enhancing intrinsic safety levels.
I will answer these questions first. Thank you!
Reporter from Hong Kong Economic Herald:
We have noticed that in recent years, the construction of smart ports across the country has entered a fast track, with a batch of automated terminals being put into operation one after another. Could you please elaborate on the current achievements in the construction of smart ports nationwide? What aspects will be focused on in the future to further promote the construction of smart ports? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will invite Director Yang Huaxiong of the Water Transport Bureau to answer this question.
Yang Huaxiong:
Thank you to the reporter from Hong Kong Economic Herald for your attention and concern regarding smart port construction. In recent years, the state has vigorously promoted the construction of smart ports. As Vice Minister Xinghu mentioned earlier in his opening remarks, we have already built 60 automated terminals, leading the world. This includes 217 berths of 10,000-ton class and above, which are world-leading in terms of scale, efficiency, and technology, marking an important transition from “following” and “running alongside” to “leading,” providing solid support for the construction of world-class ports in China.
First, the level of technical equipment is globally leading. Based on “5G + Beidou + multi-source perception” technology, Ningbo Zhoushan Port has constructed a “port panoramic map” for comprehensive situational awareness; relying on the Fifth Generation Fixed Network (F5G) technology, some automated terminals have achieved real-time, convenient remote control of operating equipment located more than 30 kilometers away. China’s market share of intelligent loading and unloading equipment for ports remains the highest in the world. Equipment control systems, among others, have broken foreign technological monopolies, enabling the efficient collaborative operation of hundreds of sets of equipment within the port area.
Second, the degree of intelligence is continuously improving. Equipment such as quay cranes, gantry cranes, loading bridges, and stacking cranes in automated terminals are gradually becoming unmanned. Relying on intelligent dispatch systems, the average time ships spend in port at Shanghai Port’s Yangshan Phase IV Terminal and Ningbo Zhoushan Port’s Shulanghu Ore Terminal has been reduced by 4 to 6 hours. Artificial intelligence empowers real-time analysis of equipment operation data, transforming equipment maintenance from “fault-based repair” to “predictive maintenance,” achieving graded and precise early warning of mechanical anomalies, reducing downtime risks and maintenance costs, and improving the effective working time of equipment.
Third, operational efficiency continues to improve. As the world’s largest automated container terminal, the operational efficiency of Shanghai’s Yangshan Phase IV Terminal has increased by over 10% compared to traditional terminals; after digital and intelligent upgrades, Qingdao Port’s throughput capacity per 100 meters of shoreline has increased by 30%, and the highest loading and unloading efficiency has broken world records 13 times. After renovation, coal transportation operational efficiency at Qinhuangdao Port has increased by 15%–20%.
Next, we will accelerate the construction of smart ports from the following aspects.
First, accelerate the construction of automated terminals. By the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, it is expected that China will have over 90 automated terminals and over 350 berths of 10,000-ton class and above. Core production processes will basically achieve unmanned on-site operations, with large-scale application of various intelligent /unloading and horizontal transport equipment, building a batch of large-scale digital and intelligent port areas with higher levels of automation, handling “tens of millions of TEUs” or “hundreds of millions of tons.”
Second, further strengthen technological breakthroughs. Accelerate technological breakthroughs in areas such as automatic ship mooring, automatic container twist lock handling, and intelligent hold cleaning, promoting the iterative application and collaborative linkage of intelligent agents in typical scenarios such as intelligent /unloading equipment operation, equipment maintenance, and ship stowage planning, strengthening intrinsic safety levels and improving port operational efficiency.
Third, accelerate the improvement of ports’ external smart service capabilities. Build a comprehensive logistics service platform integrating customs, ports, and trade; strengthen multimodal transport data connectivity; accelerate the application of intelligent agents for ship booking, consolidation planning, and intelligent route planning; provide diversified and convenient services; shorten cargo turnaround times; and promote the integrated development of ports, shipping, and trade. Thank you!
Reporter from Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine:
As summer arrives, water activities among the public are becoming increasingly frequent. May I ask how the transportation department will ensure safety? What aspects should the public pay attention to when participating in water activities? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will invite Comrade Xu Wei from the Maritime Safety Administration to answer this question.
Xu Wei:
Thank you to this reporter. Summer is the peak season for public water travel and outings. Taking the 2025 summer period as an example, during July and August last year, the average daily number of people traveling or going out on water was 2.1 million, 40% higher than the usual daily average of 1.5 million. It is fair to say that ensuring the safety of people’s lives and property is the bounden duty of our transportation department. We consistently adhere to the concept of proactive defense, deploying in advance and adopting multiple measures simultaneously, focusing on “three key controls” to go all out and build a solid safety defense line for water traffic.
First, strictly control the seaworthiness of ships. For inland waterways, in response to issues such as the age and poor condition of some passenger ships, we carried out a special rectification of inland waterway passenger ship quality in the first half of this year, eliminating a total of 2,248 inland waterway passenger ships, accounting for 12% of the total. For coastal areas, we are currently conducting a special rectification of prominent safety issues for coastal passenger ships, having investigated and rectified 1,841 issues, resolutely preventing ships from operating “with defects.”
Second, strictly control the performance of crew duties. We issued the “Code of Conduct for Crew on Passenger Ships (Trial),” providing full-coverage training for passenger ship crew to enhance their professional competence. We also established a national intelligent monitoring and management system for passenger ships, achieving full coverage access for 14,411 eligible passenger ships, enabling real-time safety alerts for six typical unsafe behaviors, such as crew members looking at their phones while navigating, and notifying enterprises to urge crew members to perform their duties safely.
Third, strictly control navigation order. We use intelligent means to strengthen dynamic monitoring and traffic organization of passenger ships, specifying that during peak hours on key passenger routes, dedicated personnel must be responsible for on-site supervision or maritime patrol boats must be stationed on site. We have established and promoted an early warning and call-response mechanism for adverse weather, promptly forwarding warning information nationwide. This year, we have urged over 20,000 passenger ships to proactively cease operations in advance when encountering adverse weather, ensuring navigation safety. We are also actively promoting ship routing systems, taking the lead in implementing a comprehensive ship routing system in the coastal waters of Liaoning, strengthening the ability to control the order of merchant ship navigation and fishing vessel operations.
Here, we also specifically remind the general public that when traveling or going out on water, you must remember the “Three Essentials” safety guidelines.
First, choose a regular boat. When traveling or going out, choose regular passenger ships or scenic area tour boats. Do not take “three-no” vessels (no name, no certificate, no port of registry), do not take agricultural self-use vessels, and do not take overloaded vessels.
Second, wear a life jacket. After boarding, listen to the staff’s instructions, quickly familiarize yourself with life-saving knowledge, and learn the correct way to wear a life jacket. When riding small open-type boats, wear a life jacket correctly and continuously throughout the trip.
Third, maintain order on board. Passengers should board and disembark in an orderly manner and follow the ship’s rules. In case of adverse weather like strong winds or sudden emergencies, everyone should remain calm, follow the crew’s commands, and take shelter in an orderly manner.
Thank you!
Reporter from Science and Technology Daily:
Deep-diving saturation diving is a key core technology for deep-sea operations. My question is, what is the current development level of China in the field of deep-diving saturation diving? How can this technology empower the construction of a strong transportation network and a strong maritime nation? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. I will invite Comrade Wang Lei from the Rescue and Salvage Bureau to answer this question.
Wang Lei:
Thank you for the question from the journalist. I will answer this question. Saturation diving is an important cutting-edge technology for human exploration of deep-sea space, specifically used for underwater tasks that are urgent, highly difficult, and require high-precision operations. When encountering deep-sea mission scenarios that intelligent equipment cannot complete, saturation diving serves as the ultimate problem-solving option. Saturation divers need to challenge the physiological limits of the deep sea, enduring the external water pressure of hundreds of tons on the seabed for long periods, using their flexible hands to complete complex and delicate underwater tasks. This important deep-sea technology has been widely used for search and rescue, salvage, installation, and exploration operations in deep and complex environments.
China’s saturation diving technology has undergone more than 50 years of exploration and research.
In the 1970s, the Shanghai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport formed a scientific research team and began the exploration and research of saturation diving technology.
In 2006, we independently developed 200-meter saturation diving operation technology and successfully completed the underwater riser replacement project in the Panyu Oilfield in the South China Sea, with an operating depth of 103.5 meters and an underwater operation duration of 126 hours, achieving a breakthrough from zero in China’s saturation diving and forming the capability for 200-meter saturation diving operations.
In 2014, China set a national saturation diving record of 313.5 meters using saturation diving methods in the South China Sea.
In 2021, the Shanghai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport successfully completed China’s first 500-meter saturation diving land-based manned experiment, marking China as one of the few countries with the capability for the 500-meter saturation diving depth level.
In the first half of this year, we successfully completed the sea trial of large-depth saturation diving equipment in the South China Sea, laying a solid foundation for the next step of 500-meter saturation diving manned practical operations.
The continuous breakthroughs in large-depth saturation diving technology are the technical guarantee for efficiently handling and responding to major underwater accidents, and an important support for ensuring the safety of China’s maritime traffic and marine environment. For example, in major emergency rescue and salvage tasks such as the deep-water oil extraction emergency response for the “Sanchi” tanker in the East China Sea and the emergency repair of the Hong Kong gas pipeline, the important role of saturation diving has been fully demonstrated. In addition, we also used saturation diving technology for the first time to complete underwater inspection operations of a domestic high-altitude dam, filling the gap in China’s emergency rescue capability for inland deep-water areas.
Next, we will continue to deeply explore and promote the research and development of saturation diving technology, continuously improving China’s large-depth underwater rescue capability, emergency salvage capability, and marine engineering operation capability. Thank you!
Journalist from The Paper:
We know that the annual Maritime Day is approaching. May I ask what the theme and main arrangements of this year’s Maritime Day activities are? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your attention to the Maritime Day activities. I will answer this question.
The China Maritime Day activities are an important window to publicize China’s maritime industry, and also an important platform to promote the maritime spirit and spread maritime culture.
This year’s July 11th marks the 22nd China Maritime Day. The theme of this year’s Maritime Day activities is “Digital Intelligence Empowers, Navigating the Future.” The setting of this theme closely follows the requirements for high-quality development of China’s maritime industry during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, further emphasizing the development requirement of “digital and intelligent upgrading.” At the same time, it echoes this year’s World Maritime Day theme “From Policy to Practice: Empowering Maritime Excellence,” promoting the transformation of digital intelligence empowerment practices into tangible results for the development of the maritime industry.
The arrangements for this year’s Maritime Day activities will fully embody the spirit of “upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground.”
The so-called “upholding fundamental principles” means we retain many good traditional activity arrangements. For example, on July 11th, we will continue to organize ships to dress overall and sound collective whistles. The organizing committee will also issue the Maritime Day announcement on that day as per惯例. Another example is that the China Institute of Navigation will hold the annual China Maritime Day Forum in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. The Pearl River Administration of Navigation, the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, etc., will also hold related themed activities.
“Breaking new ground” is reflected in three aspects.
First, carrying out main venue activities to better implement the original intention of establishing Maritime Day. On the morning of July 11th, the organizing committee will hold the 2026 China Maritime Day main venue activity in Beijing for the first time in an online and offline format, allowing the activities to cover the national maritime industry. Relevant member units of the organizing committee will release the latest industry policies, practical achievements, relevant award lists, etc., during the activity, and invite representatives from the maritime industry to share their stories on stage.
Second, organizing industry units to hold characteristic activities to continuously enhance industry participation and pride. This year’s Maritime Day activities will launch a series of themed promotions such as “Let’s Go See the Sea Together,” hold salvage skills competitions, navigation safety governance dialogues, carry out commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the salvage system, Pearl River region activities, etc., and release multiple industry achievements such as the “Domestic Waters New Energy Ship Types 2026,” comprehensively showcasing the development landscape of the maritime industry.
Third, fully mobilizing various regions to carry out activities according to local conditions to better bridge the distance between the public and maritime affairs. This year, many places are actively organizing rich and colorful public activities. For example, the China Maritime Museum in Shanghai will collaborate with six other maritime museums to launch online displays of maritime-related cultural relics. Multiple places such as Beijing and Fujian will launch Maritime Day themed waterway passenger routes. Everyone is welcome to participate and experience.
Currently, the preparations for Maritime Day are progressing orderly. We hope everyone can better understand and love maritime affairs through the annual Maritime Day activities. We also hope friends from the news media pay more attention to the various activity arrangements for this year’s Maritime Day.
Thank you!
Zhou Jianshe:
Please continue asking questions. There are two more journalists.
Journalist from Jiefang Daily Shangguan News:
I am more concerned about the topic of intelligent shipping. During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, what key projects will China focus on in the field of intelligent shipping, and what development goals will be achieved in the future? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. Please let Comrade Xu Wei from the Maritime Safety Administration answer this question.
Xu Wei:
Thank you, journalist. Currently, the new generation of artificial intelligence technology brings significant opportunities for the leapfrog development of intelligent shipping. In the first half of this year, the Ministry of Transport, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, issued the “Intelligent Shipping 2030 Action Plan,” aiming to empower the transformation and upgrading of shipping through technological innovation, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces in shipping, improve China’s shipping competitiveness, and provide solid support for basically building a strong transportation country by 2035.
The “Action Plan” revolves around four dimensions: technological equipment breakthroughs, application pilot empowerment, infrastructure improvement, and regulatory governance enhancement. It deploys key tasks in 11 aspects, including intelligent ship technology and equipment breakthroughs, promotion and application of mature technologies, communication and navigation facility improvement, regulatory governance system construction, and regulatory governance capability enhancement. It also formulates comprehensive safeguard measures to provide strong support for the development of intelligent shipping.
Specifically, we will combine the current development status of intelligent shipping and the evolution law of artificial intelligence technology, taking into account the realistic foundation and medium-to-long-term planning, and clearly propose two-stage development goals.
The first stage, by 2027, aims to achieve extensive and deep integration of artificial intelligence technology with shipping elements, and make breakthroughs in core key technologies of intelligent shipping. Establish more than three comprehensive intelligent shipping pilot areas, open more than five intelligent shipping pilot routes, create more than ten promotable typical intelligent shipping scenarios, operate more than one hundred intelligent ships, achieve effective coordination of multiple elements of intelligent shipping in typical scenarios, and initially demonstrate the shipping industry’s ability to rely on intelligent technology to prevent human errors, reduce labor intensity, and improve production efficiency, forming new momentum for shipping development.
The second stage, by 2030, aims to fully master the core key technologies of intelligent shipping, possess the supply capability for spectrum-based equipment systems, establish a more complete policy, regulation, and standard system, significantly improve the supporting capability of the talent team, achieve an overall leap from application scenarios to industrial ecology, form a new development model of technology, industry, and governance synergy, and place the development of intelligent shipping at an internationally advanced level.
Thank you!
Zhou Jianshe:
The last question.
Journalist from China Finance Daily:
Water transport is closely related to multiple consumer fields such as culture and tourism. In June this year, Shanghai took the lead in launching a pilot for destination-less cruises. May I ask how the maiden voyage went? What impact will it have on the development of China’s cruise transport industry? Thank you.
Li Xinghu:
Thank you for your question. Please let Comrade Yang Huaxiong from the Water Transport Bureau answer this question.
Yang Huaxiong:
Thank you for the journalist’s question. I am very pleased to introduce the relevant situation of the Shanghai destination-less cruise pilot.
In recent years, cruises have gradually become a new consumption hotspot, especially a new highlight of our water tourism. In 2025, China’s international cruise passenger transport volume reached over 1.3 million person-times, an increase of 25.7% compared to 2024.
Since the beginning of this year, we have worked with relevant departments to promote the pilot of destination-less cruises. The maiden voyage in early June was successful. The pilot was operated by China’s first domestically built large cruise ship, “Adora Magic City.” The itinerary was 3 days and 2 nights. Specifically, it departed from Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on the afternoon of Saturday, June 6th, sailed to a point 24 nautical miles beyond China’s territorial sea baseline for a sea cruise, without calling at any other ports. It successfully returned to the departure port on the morning of Monday, June 8th.
对这次试点，我们在监管政策上进行了创新探索。在航线监管方面，我们将该航线定位为特殊的国际航线，对船舶和人员按照出境管理，邮轮可以享受保税的船供物资补给政策，降低企业运营成本，便于与平日经营的国际航线无缝切换。在旅客出入境监管方面，除使用普通的护照外，旅客还可以凭身份证办理无目的地海上游专用出入境通行证，免去了签证的准备时间，出游更加方便。在海事监管方面，将邮轮无目的地海上游纳入了“一船一策”安全监管和服务保障机制，在进出口岸审批、交通组织、安全监管等方面，采取便利化措施，进一步提高了运行效率和安全，保障旅客人身安全。
首航航次载客4000多人，载客率近80%。试点效果应当说超出了我们的预期，旅客对邮轮的产品、服务高度认可，反映出无目的地海上游的市场潜力很大，具备了进一步开展的基础。相较传统航线，无目的地海上游航程时间短，且主要利用周末时间，出行更加灵活；单次出行成本低，对旅客吸引力大；船上产品也更加丰富，除免税店以外，还增配了流行演唱、脱口秀、魔术表演、主题派对等娱乐活动，海上运动场所全面开放，美食24小时“不打烊”。特别受到了年轻客群的青睐，旅客平均年龄比常态化出境航次降低了8岁。
无目的地海上游作为一种新的邮轮航线类型，经过多年探索，成功开拓了“周末邮轮微度假”的新消费模式，对于提振邮轮行业发展信心具有重要意义。
下一步，我们还将继续推动具备条件的省市开展试点，争取更大力度的开放便利政策，推动我国邮轮产业高质量发展。
谢谢！
周建设：
今天的发布会就到这里，谢谢各位发布人，谢谢各位记者朋友，大家再见！
