The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is likely to
establish a port services network in Zhejiang as the regional
grouping has seen a rapid increase in port throughputs.
The APEC's 17-member economies agree the group's ports used for
the transport of containers, oil and ore, faces problems of "uneven
development among ports, fierce competition, and lack of
cooperation".
In 2005, of 18 world ports with a cargo throughput of more than
100 million tons, 15 were located in the APEC region; and 16 of the
top 20 container ports were also located in the region.
But many of the region's countries have poorly facilitated
ports, unable to share in the boom of the industry.
"The unbalanced development pattern of ports in the region is
similar to the economic development of the region," said Weng
Mengyong, vice-minister of communications.
"There is an urgent need to improve the services and efficiency
of the ports through strengthening cooperation," he said.
President Hu Jintao proposed the setting up of the port services
network at the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Hanoi last
November. The proposal received strong support.
At a recent symposium, member nations discussed and reached
consensus on the guiding principles, major functions, and the
mechanism of establishing such a network.
Julie Nelson, deputy administrator of the United States Maritime
Administration, applauded the proposal, calling it "important" to
all APEC member economies.
"The gathering of all nations in the APEC region will allow us
to come to consensus on where we are going in the future," she told
China Daily.
"If we can reach consensus on the amount of trade that may occur
and figure out what the future pattern is going to be, then
individual ports can prepare their infrastructure better," she
said.
Zou Bin, deputy director of the water transport department of
the Ministry of Communications, said the port service network would
strengthen cooperation between ports, in addition to providing a
public information platform for discussions and agreements.
China's port industry is the fastest growing in the world. For
four consecutive years, the cargo throughput of China's ports has
been the largest in the world.
Official statistics show the total throughput of ports in China
was 5.6 billion tons last year, with Shanghai topping the list.
(China Daily June 13, 2007)
