The Shanghai International Port (Group), the operator of one of the world’s largest ports, intends to set up a cooperation mechanism to boost the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, said Chen Shuyuan, the chairman of the company, in an exclusive interview with China.org.cn in Beijing on Tuesday.

Chen Shuyuan, chairman of Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd. [Photo by Zhang Lulu/China.org.cn]

Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013, which has been welcomed by the corporate sector in China.

One feature of the initiative, as Xi has pointed out on various occasions, is enhancing the connectivity among the countries involved. Port development has been a highlight, especially in building the Maritime Silk Road.

“We intend to build a communication platform for the ports involved in order to seek consensus on the future development direction of the initiative.” Chen Shuyuan said on the sidelines of the ongoing National People’s Congress, the country’s annual legislative session.

As soon as the consensus is achieved, the mechanism will gradually move forward to trade and logistics facilitation and information exchange, Chen added.

The Shanghai International Port (Group) has been working on what Chen called a “Yangtze River strategy” for over ten years, which is a massive cooperation between the Shanghai Port and other ports along the Yangtze River. The port will now better connect the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Chen said.

Currently the company is communicating with China’s Ministry of Transportation and other ports along the route to set up the cooperation mechanism, Chen revealed.