President Li Kelin Address the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai Shipowners Association

On April 18, the opening Ceremony of Shanghai Shipowners Association was held at Shanghai Jinjiang Hotel. The ceremony was hosted by Huang Jianzhi, deputy director of Shanghai Construction Commission. Acting as chairman of the association, President Li Kelin delivered the welcoming address. Along with Shen Jun, Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal Government, Li Kelin unveiled the plaque of the association. Municipal leaders also expressed their hopes that Shanghai Shipowners Association should offer its advices for the grand strategy of bringing Shanghai into an international shipping center and to raise the competitiveness of Shanghai Port in the world. Ministry of Communications also sent a congratulatory letter, hoping Shanghai Shipowners Association should continuously raise its comprehensive service abilities with responsibilities to serve Chinese shipping industry, serve the shipping market of Shanghai and serve ship companies in Shanghai region.
With much attention paid by Shanghai Municipal Government, with the care and support of Shanghai Construction Commission and Shanghai Municipal Port Authorities and other authorities, and with active efforts of China Shipping Group, China Shipping Container Lines Co.,Ltd (CSCL), COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd. (COSCON), SINOTRANS CNTANINER LINES CO., LTD and other sponsors the first member meeting was successfully held on February 25. The meeting adopted Articles of Shanghai Shipowners Association and elected the members of the first council and its standing council. Li Kelin was elected as Chairman, Xu Lirong and Li Xiaolong were elected as Vice Chairman. Chen Deming was nominated and approved to act as Secretary General of the association.
The establishment of Shanghai Shipowners Association is a long-awaited big event for ship companies in Shanghai region and is also an important landmark in Shanghai s shipping history. It indicates that Shanghai shipping enterprises have entered a new stage in industry in terms of self-discipline, market collaboration, fair competition, respecting rights and interests, highly efficient service, close governmental relationships, development of Shanghai s international shipping center, etc. The establishment of Shanghai s Shipowners Association is the need of Shanghai s reform and opening-up, the development of the market economy and governmental functional shift, and is also the factual need of ship enterprises of Shanghai region to build a healthy and orderly market competition environment together.
After the establishment, Shanghai Shipowners Association will carry out a variety of activities, including shipping market survey, project research, information consultancy, technical training, technical exchange & cooperation and so on. The association will actively get involved in the strategic research to develop shanghai into an international shipping center, act as a good policy advisor of the government, offer advices for relevant governmental agencies, try its best to speak for the legal and reasonable rights and interests, fully play the role as the bridge between the government and the enterprise and promote the self-discipline of the shipping industry. In addition to carry out self construction and provide necessary member services, the association will also assist the government to raise port management standard and service quality in Shanghai, to build a more healthy and orderly trade environment, and try its best to increase the comprehensive strength of Shanghai in the global port competition.
In the next period, Shanghai Shipowners Association will focus to conduct surveys on the existing problems in Shanghai s shipping market, study the supply-demand relationship and development trend in Shanghai regional shipping market as well as international and domestic shipping markets, analyze the competition situation of far-east regional ports, goods supply structure and development prospect in Shanghai and Greater Triangle Region, offer strategic measures and suggestions for Shanghai to attract the surrounding container goods supply and meet the need to build Shanghai into an international shipping center.
Shanghai Port is the busiest container shipping port in China, and it is also the port where the most overseas and domestic shipping enterprises settle their feet. Support of the shipping enterprises is indispensable to the construction of the international shipping center. We believe that, with the common efforts of its member companies Shanghai Shipowners Association will effectively integrate the strength of the shipping enterprises in Shanghai region, will help to build a competitive, cooperative, standard and orderly marketing environment for Shanghai s regional shipping market, will raise their advantageous positions and further facilitate the permanent prosperity of the shipping market of Shanghai, of the other regions of China and even of the world.