Exhibition on Shipping Technology and Equipment Opens

Exhibition on Shipping Technology and Equipment Opens

---

An exhibition on shipping technology and equipment was started Tuesday in Tianjin, a leading port city in north China.

The China International Shipping Technology and Equipment Exhibition will focus on the technology of the administration of maritime affairs, port and sea-route facilities, watercraft engineering and manufacturing.

The four-day event, the first of its kind in the country, is sponsored by Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (CSNAME) and other institutes.

The sponsors also held a forum concerning a wide range of topics such as the current problem of China's shipping and port administration, security during sea transportation, and market adjusting.

Wang Rongsheng, director-general with CSNAME, said the exhibition will help promote China's high level cooperation with other countries in the field of maritime affairs.

Considering China's imminent entrance into the World Trade Organization and more involvement in the economic globalization, the cooperation is crucial, said Wang.

Sources show that in China 90 percent of imports and exports are transported by ship and China's shipbuilding tonnage accounts for nearly 10 percent of the world total. However, the country's shipping industry still operates at a low level.

Experts cited statistics that the sea ports of the mainland achieved last year freight volume of 10 million containers, only 25 percent of which was completed by domestic shipping companies.

Delegates from hundreds of domestic and foreign ship manufacturers and envoys of other countries participated in the exhibition.