The 2026 Shandong Port High-Quality Container Development Conference began in Qingdao on March 31. Centered around the theme of "Facilitating International Land-Sea Logistics Corridors and Jointly Building a World-Class Shipping Hub", the event is poised to celebrate friendship and plan for future cooperation with port-related institutions and shipping enterprises to advance high-quality container development.

As a leading port cluster globally, Shandong Port Group (SPG) has always placed top priority on the high-quality development in the container business, with its scale and hub capacity continuously growing over the years, maintaining a sound and steady development momentum. To date, SPG is served by more than 370 container shipping services, with more than 80 added since its establishment. It has set up 56 inland ports and launched 108 freight train services, with its sea-rail intermodal transportation volume exceeding 4.6 million TEUs, ranking first in China for consecutive years. In 2025, SPG handled over 1.9 billion metric tons of cargo and over 48 million TEUs of containers, ranking first and second, respectively, around the world.

SPG presented awards to more than 30 shipping companies during the event. Together with 12 shipping enterprises, including COSCO Shipping, SPG signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a new port-shipping cooperation ecosystem, aiming to deepen strategic collaboration and foster a new ecosystem for container business development.

During the event, SPG announced its commitment to integrated container services. By focusing on integrated resource integration and upgrading whole-chain capacity, it will build an integrated container service system and support the high-quality development of the global shipping industry.

Seizing this opportunity, SPG plans to partner with port-related institutions and maritime partners to develop a new model of port-shipping cooperation. It intends to use its role as an international shipping hub in Northeast Asia to support Qingdao in becoming an international shipping center, improve international logistics corridors, and advance the high-quality development of the port and shipping industry.

Leaders and partners gather at the conference in Qingdao. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]