Announcement of China Maritime Day 2023: Sail the New Silk Road and forge a new pattern

The sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great. The ocean of tolerance and interoperability connects the seven continents of the world and allows people everywhere to share the same destiny. During the Qin and Han Dynasties 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Chinese nation set sail, crossed the rough waves, and broke out the Maritime Silk Road. More than 600 years ago, Zheng He, the great navigator of the Ming Dynasty, led his fleet on seven voyages to the Western Ocean, creating an unprecedented feat of human transoceanic navigation and building a bridge of friendship with the world. In the contemporary era, Chinese sailors are plowing the sea and pursuing their dreams, opening up maritime routes to ensure the stability and smoothness of the logistics supply chain, building bridges and ties to promote global economic and trade exchanges, and making the Maritime Silk Road glow with vitality in the new era. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative. Over the past ten years, economic and trade exchanges between my country and countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have become increasingly close. Economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological exchanges and pragmatic cooperation using the ocean as a carrier have steadily advanced, further enriching the potential for building a maritime community with a shared future. Practice has demonstrated my country's responsibility and responsibility as a major country in promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of China's restoration of its lawful seat in the International Maritime Organization. Over the past 50 years, China has actively participated in the formulation of international maritime rules and fully integrated into global maritime governance. It has been elected as a category A member of the International Maritime Organization for 17 consecutive times, and has actively contributed Chinese wisdom to promote the healthy and sustainable development of world shipping.

Our country is a big maritime country, a big navigation country, and a big shipbuilding country. It has vast jurisdictional sea areas and a long coastline. Navigation plays an important role in my country's great cause of promoting the formation of a new pattern of all-round opening up to the outside world and striving to build a community with a shared future for mankind. As the world's largest trader of goods and the second largest economy, about 95% of my country's import and export trade volume is completed by sea transportation. Shipping routes and service networks are spread across major countries and regions in the world. Port size, number of crew members, shipbuilding output, shipping ships The scale of the fleet ranks among the top in the world, and the gross marine product will exceed 9 trillion yuan for the first time in 2022.

These achievements are inseparable from the vast number of seafarers, marine fishery crews, marine project builders, military police officers and soldiers, as well as cadres and employees of port and shipping units, port departments, and maritime salvage systems. Maritime workers have made important contributions to the development of navigation and marine economy. In this festival that belongs to all sailors, I would like to extend my holiday greetings and high respect to all Chinese sailors!

Entering a new era, we are on a new journey to comprehensively build a modern and powerful socialist country. middle, we must adhere to the overall planning of land and sea, strive for the sea, improve the maritime awareness of the whole people, and vigorously promote the new era maritime spirit of "patriotic dedication, pioneering and innovative, not afraid of hardships, seeking truth and pragmatism, working together in the same boat, inclusive cooperation"; we must persist in the sea of ​​​​people Harmony, strengthen marine environmental protection, and jointly protect mankind’s blue home; we must persist in technological innovation, build a modern marine industry system, and lead safe, green, smart, and high-quality development; we must adhere to mutual benefit and win-win, and jointly build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Let’s jointly cope with risks and challenges and jointly build a better future.

The theme of China Maritime Day 2023 is "Sail the New Silk Road and Strive for a New Pattern". Today, the 2023 China Maritime Day Forum was held in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. The China Maritime Day Activity Week was officially launched, aiming to promote higher-level and more-dimensional exchanges in the domestic and foreign navigation and ocean communities, build consensus on development, and deepen pragmatic cooperation. To celebrate China Maritime Day, a series of colorful and unique Maritime Day activities are also held across the country.

Concentrate on the mission and set sail on a new journey. Let us join hands to fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, serve to build a new development pattern, accelerate the construction of a transportation power and a maritime power, write a new chapter of comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Chapter.

Sailing Day Event Organization Working Committee

2023 July 11th

Original title: Announcement of China Maritime Day in 2023