China hosts ISO's first port, terminal standardization body

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The first port and terminal standardization subcommittee under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was officially established in China on Tuesday, with its secretariat hosted by the country, the Ministry of Transport has announced.

The subcommittee, approved by the ISO, is established under the ISO Technical Committee for Ships and Marine Technology. It is the first ISO technical body in the port sector initiated by the ministry.

The newly established subcommittee will promote global "hard connectivity" of port infrastructure and "soft connectivity" of rules and standards, said Xu Wenqiang, director of the ministry's science and technology department, at a press conference.

The subcommittee will focus on leading global green and intelligent development in port operations, system construction, and technology applications, with 23 participating members and 27 observing members.

Ports and terminals serve as crucial logistics nodes for maintaining stable global supply chains. Standardization plays a vital role in enhancing their competitiveness and modernizing governance systems.

Since last year, the ISO has visited Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao and other locations in China, highly commending the country's achievements in port and terminal standardization.

In terms of port infrastructure, China's coastal ports lead the world in overall scale. Chinese ports hold eight and six positions respectively among the global top ten ports by cargo throughput and container throughput. In port intelligence development, China ranks first worldwide in both completed and under-construction automated terminals. The world record for container handling efficiency at automated terminals has also been set and maintained by Chinese ports.

Through continuous innovation, China has developed advanced technical achievements in port construction and operation, particularly in terminal guidelines, operational requirements and green development, creating a standard system characterized by safety, sustainability, intelligence and efficiency, said Xu.

The establishment of this subcommittee marks a solid step forward in global port standardization, injecting strong momentum into building an efficient, safe and sustainable global shipping network, said Li Ying, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport. Enditem