PR97472

QINGDAO, China, Aug. 18, 2022 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

At the 2022 Qingdao Land-Sea Linkage Seminar held on August 15, 2022, the

International Shipping Hub Development Index -- RCEP Regional Report (2022),

the Xinhua-SPG Port Commodity Index Report (2022), and the RCEP Seaborne Trade

Index Report 2022 were released. Experts believed that the high-standard

interconnection infrastructure for the industrial chain and supply chain could

be provided by accurately depicting the changes in port commodity trade as well

as achieving the efficient linkage among port shipping, commodities, and trade.

The International Shipping Hub Development Index(ISHDI) -- RCEP Regional Report

(2022) compiled by China Economic Information Service was another world-class

port and shipping evaluation index launched globally, with a focus on the

competitiveness elements of shipping hubs based on the Xinhua -- Baltic

International Shipping Center Development Index. It aims to facilitate smooth

cooperation and coordinated development of hub ports.

ISHDI incorporates 17 secondary indicators dividing into 5 primary dimensions,

which are infrastructure capability, operation service, network connectivity,

smart & green level of ports and economic vitality of the hinterland. To study

the development of the ports & hubs in the RCEP region, ISHDI project team

chose 29 major shipping hubs in the members of the RCEP by scale and

representativeness. As per calculation, 29 sample ports are divided into four

classes, Class A-D. As the leading force, Shanghai Port and Singapore Port are

Class A shipping hubs playing crucial role in the world shipping industry,

Shanghai and Singapore are also the world leading shipping centers.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Qingdao Port, Shenzhen Port, and Busan Port were rated as

Class B. These ports not only have significant advantages in infrastructure

capability, network connectivity, but also have their own characteristics such

as good service, leading innovation, etc.

Xinhua-SPG Port Commodity Index was jointly developed and compiled by Shandong

Port Group and China Economic Information Service. It was first released in

Qingdao in October 2021. And the index system included the Crude Oil Price

Index, Iron Ore Inventory and Entry & Exit Index, Coke Inventory and Entry &

Exit Index, Steel Billet Price Index, and Hot Rolled Coils Price Index. The

Iron Ore Price Index and Coke Price Index were newly released this time,

forming a comprehensive monitoring system covering the iron ore and coke

commodity prices, inventories, and entry & exit states in ports of Shandong

Port Group. According to the planning, the categories involved in the later

index system will be further enriched, and the coverage will also be extended

to other ports along the coast, gathering more information on advantageous

cargo types of the ports.

The RCEP Seaborne Trade Index Report 2022 took the 14 member countries except

for Laos of the RCEP as the research objects and selected six major categories

of cargo, including container cargo, iron ore, coal, petroleum products, LNG,

and automobiles, which accounted for about two-thirds of the RCEP seaborne

trade volume, as the analysis objects to reflect the annual development trend

of the RCEP seaborne trade from the two dimensions -- overall trade volume and

seaborne trade volume. The RCEP Seaborne Trade Index was 101.1 in 2021, which

had exceeded the highest level before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019). The report

also pointed out that it would have a positive effect on the seaborne trade of

goods in the region in the future, driving the RCEP Seaborne Trade Index to

further go up, with the liberalization and facilitation of RCEP trade in goods

as well as the continuous deepening of the rules for accumulation in the region

of origin.

Sea transportation has been the main mode of transportation for global trade,

and the ports are its hubs and bridges. Huang Youfang, Council Chairman of the

8th China Institute of Navigation and Vice Chairman of China Federation of

Logistics & Purchasing, believed that as the digital information link, the

release of the three upgraded indexes would enhance the status of ports as

international shipping hubs, guide the hub ports to achieve smooth cooperation,

and help global ports and shipping optimize resource allocation and achieve

sustainable development.

Source: China Economic Information Service