Shanghai Pudong International Shipping Week 2026 opens in Pudong New Area on Oct 20. [Photo/WeChat ID: pdnews]

Shanghai Pudong International Shipping Week 2026 opened on Oct 20, bringing together more than 110 overseas guests from 19 countries and regions, including representatives of major international shipping organizations and industry executives.

First held as Pudong Shipping Week in 2023, the event was upgraded and renamed this year to strengthen international exchanges. More than 50 innovative outcomes were presented, spanning international cooperation, industry standards, smart technologies, shipping services, and talent development.

At the opening ceremony, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration announced key measures, including an AI-powered maritime weather-warning network, China's first R&D center for handling emerging ship pollutants, and the country's first inspection guide for pure car and truck carriers.

Pudong also unveiled 10 shipping innovation scenarios, featuring a maritime AI-powered digital human, a Yangtze River multimodal transport data-sharing platform, domestically built cruise ships, dual-fuel marine engines and a biopharmaceutical cold-chain system.

The district released a shipping talent development plan in collaboration with international organizations and industry bodies, alongside the Pudong 2030 Initiative, promoting cooperation on trusted shipping data, mutual recognition of standards, AI applications, green finance, and international talent development.

The Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index report, released in July 2026, showed Shanghai overtaking London for the first time to rank second globally.

As the core area of Shanghai's international shipping center, Pudong aims to strengthen its sea and air hub functions, improve its industrial ecosystem and business environment, and accelerate green and digital transformation. By 2030, it aims to build a globally competitive shipping hub and play a greater role in international shipping governance and rule-making.