On March 11, Secretary-General Zhen Hong of Shanghai International Shipping Institute (SISI) received an exclusive interview by Economic Daily on the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center and the development of SISI.

During the interview, Mr. Zhen Hong introduced the construction progress, achievements and future development of Shanghai International Shipping Center. He pointed out that, to achieve the leapfrog development, Shanghai International Shipping Center shall explore a path with Chinese and Shanghai characteristics for its construction, rather than blindly following the development mode of other international shipping centers. When talking of the resources for Shanghai’s shipping development, Mr. Zhen Hong stated that Shanghai has two advantages which cannot be ignored. The first is the ship industry. Shanghai shipbuilding industry has gradually developed the ability to allocate resources worldwide. The industry will develop towards the two ends of “smiling curve”, namely, key technology development, design and marketing. Second, Shanghai also has incomparable advantages in maritime talents training as compared with other ports in the world. Relying on Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai can vigorously develop sailor cultivation and training in addition to building itself into a communication and training base for the world’s sailors. This is also a breakthrough in the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center.

In addition, Mr. Zhen Hong also introduced the next key task for SISI in the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center. Firstly, as the organizer and initiator, SISI is responsible for promoting the establishment of Shanghai-Hong Kong International Maritime R&D and Communication Centre as well as the Shipping Broker Association. Secondly, as a cooperator, SISI shall assist relevant functional departments in organizing and studying local legislations “to promote the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center” and establishing the statistical indicator system for the construction of the Center. He stated that SISI will play a more important role as the advisory think tank for the decision-making of governments, domestic and foreign companies, and shipping organizations.