From October 15 to 17, 2011, the 6th China Cruise Shipping 2011 & China International Cruise Expo 2011 was held in Tianjin Binhai New area, where more than 300 cruise professionals from over ten countries or regions such as China, the United States, the UK, Italy, Finland, France and the Bahamas exchanged views and ideas on the development of China’s cruise industry and international cruise companies. Under the theme of “Increase the Regional Cooperation, Co-create the Cruise Industry”, the conference provided a platform for participants to discuss the development schemes for the cruise industry.
   On the opening day, Shanghai Maritime University and China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) signed a strategic cooperation agreement to enter into a strategic partnership. Based on the jointly-established Shanghai International Shipping Institute (SISI) Cruise Economy Institute, the two parties will , continue to publish China Cruise Industry Development Report, and carry out in-depth researches cruise economy, policy and technical consulting, market research and industrial planning on the cruise industry.
   On the morning of October 17, Xiao Baojia, Director of SISI Cruise Economy Institute and Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University, delivered a keynote speech at the invitation of the organizing committee, In this speech titled “Thoughts on China’s Cruise Building”, Mr. Xiao outlined the development pattern of global cruise manufacturing industry, introduced the world’s major cruise shipyards, and analyzed the statistics of global cruise orders from 2012 to 2016. He not only pointed out the obvious large-scale trend in cruise manufacturing and the end of the “Made in Europe” monopoly era; but also indentified five development directions for China’s cruise manufacturing industry, including self-manufacturing, economy-driven, Chinese elements, comparative advantages, and Sino-foreign cooperation. Finally, through an analysis on technical and economic feasibility, Mr. Xiao encouraged all China’s enterprises to seize the opportunity to build their own cruises at the earliest possible time. The concrete data, unique analysis and distinctive insights won him warm applauses from the audience.