A speaker shares his ideas at the Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum on Sept 8.

The Silk Road Maritime International Cooperation Forum, one of the major events of the 2020 China International Fair for Investment & Trade, was held on Sept 8.

 The forum was themed around sharing prosperity through cooperation and connectivity. It attracted countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and consisted of discussions on high-quality development. New participants to the Silk Road Maritime Alliance were also granted licenses at the forum.

 As the birthplace of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Fujian province launched the Silk Road Maritime project in 2018 in the city of Xiamen, which currently offers 62 shipping routes and over 3,400 shipping services, according to official figures.

 The project alliance currently has over 180 participants, including shipping companies, logistics companies, trade and manufacturing companies, research institutes, and industrial associations.

 The Port of Gdansk, Poland's largest port, joined the project to gain more business opportunities in China, according to Mateusz Dawidowski, chief representative of the Chinese representative office in Shanghai of the Port of Gdansk.

 "We work closely with Xiamen Port under the Maritime Silk Road initiative and we are hoping to collaborate more with ports in China," Dawidowski said.

 The Silk Road Maritime project has also introduced various standards for maritime transportation services for ports, transit support, and multimodal transportation, aiming to build a more efficient and lower-cost shipping transportation system.