People's Daily Cangzhou, July 11 (Reporter Qiao Xuefeng) July 11 is China's nineteenth maritime day, but also "World Maritime Day" in China's implementation of the day. On the morning of the day, the 2023 China Maritime Day Forum and the National Maritime Day Week kick-off ceremony was held in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, this year's theme of the Maritime Day activities is "sail the new Silk Road, oar the new pattern", the kick-off ceremony released the "2023 China Maritime Day Bulletin" (hereinafter referred to as the "Bulletin"). According to the Announcement, China's port size, number of crews, and size of maritime fleet are among the world's largest, and the gross maritime product in 2022 exceeded 9 trillion yuan for the first time.

According to the Announcement, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Over the past ten years, China and the countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have had increasingly close economic and trade exchanges, and economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological exchanges and practical cooperation using the ocean as a carrier have been steadily advancing, which has further enriched the practice of building a community of destiny for the oceans and demonstrated China's commitment to promote the building of a community of destiny for mankind as a great nation's responsibility and bearer of responsibility. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of China's resumption of its legal seat in the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Over the past 50 years, China has actively participated in the formulation of international maritime rules and regulations, fully integrated into global maritime governance, and has been elected to the IMO for 17 consecutive times as a category A member, actively contributing Chinese wisdom to the promotion of the healthy and sustainable development of world shipping.

According to the Bulletin, maritime navigation plays an important role in China's promotion of a new pattern of opening up to the outside world on all fronts, and in its commitment to building a community of human destiny. As the world's largest goods trading country and the second largest economy, about 95% of China's import and export trade cargo volume through maritime transportation, maritime routes and service networks throughout the world's major countries and regions, port size, the number of crews, shipbuilding production, the size of the maritime fleet, etc., ranked in the world's forefront, the gross domestic product of the sea in 2022 for the first time exceeded 9 trillion yuan.

The Bulletin also proposes that in the new era, in the new journey of comprehensively building a strong socialist modernization country, it is necessary to adhere to the land-sea integration, to seek strength from the sea, to raise the marine awareness of the whole people, to vigorously carry forward the spirit of navigation in the new era, which is "patriotic dedication, pioneering and innovative, undaunted by difficulties and dangers, pragmatic, and in the same boat, tolerant and cooperative"; and it is necessary to adhere to the harmony of people and the sea, to strengthen marine environmental protection, and to jointly protect the sea and the environment. Harmony between man and sea, strengthen marine environmental protection, and jointly guard the blue homeland of mankind; to adhere to scientific and technological innovation, build a modern marine industrial system, and lead the safe, green, intelligent and high-quality development; to adhere to the mutual benefit and win-win situation, and build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and jointly cope with the risks and challenges of the common construction of a better future.

The following is the full text of the Announcement:

The sea accommodates all rivers, and there is a great deal of tolerance. The sea of tolerance and interoperability connects the seven continents of the world, and also allows people from all over the world to share the same destiny. 2,000 years ago, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the forefathers of the Chinese nation set sail and traveled across the raging waves to break out the Maritime Silk Road, and more than 600 years ago, the great navigator of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He, led a fleet of ships on seven trips to the West Ocean, which pioneered the unprecedented feat of inter-oceanic voyages of mankind, and set up a bridge of friendship to meet with the world. In contemporary times, Chinese seafarers plow the sea, dream of the deep blue, open up sea routes to ensure the stability and smooth flow of the logistics supply chain, and set up bridges and links to promote global economic and trade exchanges, so as to make the Maritime Silk Road revitalized in the new era. This year is the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" initiative. Over the past 10 years, China has had increasingly close economic and trade exchanges with countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and has steadily promoted economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological exchanges and practical cooperation using the sea as a carrier, further enriching the practice of building a community of destiny for the oceans and seas, and demonstrating China's commitment to promoting the responsibility of building a community of destiny for mankind as a great power. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of China's resumption of its legal seat in the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Over the past 50 years, China has actively participated in the formulation of international maritime rules and regulations, fully integrated into global maritime governance, and has been elected to the IMO for 17 consecutive times as a category A member, actively contributing Chinese wisdom to the promotion of the healthy and sustainable development of world shipping.

China is a large maritime country, a seafaring country and a shipbuilding country, with vast jurisdictional waters and a long coastline. Shipping plays an important role in China's great endeavor to promote the formation of a new pattern of opening up to the outside world on all fronts and to build a community of human destiny. As the world's largest goods trading country and the second largest economy, about 95% of China's import and export trade cargo volume through maritime transportation, maritime routes and service networks throughout the world's major countries and regions, the port size, the number of crew, shipbuilding production, maritime fleet size ranked among the world's forefront, the gross domestic product of the sea in 2022 for the first time exceeded 9 trillion yuan.

These achievements could not have been achieved without the important contributions made by the vast number of seafarers, marine fishery crews, marine engineering construction workers, military and police officers and sea-related workers, such as cadres and workers of harbor and navigation units, port departments, and maritime rescue and salvage systems, to the cause of navigation and the development of the marine economy. In this festival belonging to all seafarers, we extend holiday greetings and high respect to all Chinese seafarers!

Entering the new era, in the new journey of comprehensively building a strong socialist modernized country, we should adhere to the land-sea integration, seek strength from the sea, raise the marine awareness of the whole nation, and vigorously carry forward the spirit of navigation in the new era of "patriotism and dedication, pioneering and innovation, undaunted by difficulties and dangers, truth-seeking and pragmatism, and being in the same boat, tolerance and cooperation"; we should adhere to the harmony of mankind and the sea, strengthen marine environmental protection, and jointly safeguard the blue sea of mankind. To adhere to the harmony of mankind and the sea, strengthen marine environmental protection, and jointly guard the blue homeland of mankind; to adhere to scientific and technological innovation, build a modern marine industrial system, and lead the safe, green, intelligent and high-quality development; to adhere to the win-win situation, and build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, to jointly cope with the risks and challenges, and jointly build a better future.

The theme of China's Maritime Day 2023 is "Sailing the New Silk Road, Striving for a New Pattern". Today, the 2023 China Maritime Day Forum was held in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, and the China Maritime Day Week was officially opened, aiming to promote higher-level and multi-dimensional exchanges between domestic and foreign maritime and oceanographic communities, to forge consensus on development and to deepen pragmatic cooperation. In order to celebrate China's Navigation Day, a series of colorful and distinctive Navigation Day activities are being held all over the country.

Let's join hands to carry out the mission and sail on a new journey. Let's join hands to implement the new development concept completely, accurately and comprehensively, serve to build a new development pattern, accelerate the construction of a strong transportation country and a strong maritime country, and write a brand-new chapter of comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and promoting the building of a community of human destiny with Chinese-style modernization.