World shipping summit focuses on the china factor

Beijing will be the venue for a top level shipping summit in July bringing together leading maritime industry companies and government and trade bodies to discuss the impact China is having on world trading patterns.

China?s largest shipping group, Cosco, has joined forces with internationally renowned, London based maritime consultancy Drewry Shipping Consultants, and one of China?s largest shipping media groups, Maritime China, to put this event called the ?World Shipping (China) Annual Summit? together.

Since China entered the World Trade Organisation in late 2001, inward investment has created a voracious appetite for raw materials and energy products. Consequently, the world shipping markets exhibited unprecedented growth in 2003 owing to what is being called ?the China factor?. This shift in world trading patterns has driven growth in all of the major shipping market sectors including container liner shipping, dry bulk shipping and oil shipping over the past year.

The event will be attended by Chinese government officials, senior management from international companies and institutions engaged in shipping and related businesses, investment banks. An international panel of experts and academics will be invited to speak on the structural impact of the China Factor both on global trade and the shipping markets. It will be held in Beijing on 15 and 16 July and will create an exchange platform for what the future holds for raw material suppliers, trade partners, logistics providers and shipping companies.