Goodwill Speech at the Maritime Business Roundtable Meeting
Ms. Yan Yuqing, Consul General
of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos
18th , April, 2024,
Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos
All protocols duly observed,
Good morning!
It is a pleasure to participate in today’s roundtable meeting. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and congratulations to the organizer of the event.
Both China and Nigeria are nations of rivers and oceans, with many important rivers and river-ports, and long coastlines and seaports. In the field of waterway transportation and the river and marine conservation, China and Nigeria share similarities and can learn from each other and cooperate more closely.
To begin with, I would like to introduce China’s practices in inland waterway and maritime transportation.
Currently, China has established transportation links with more than 100 countries and regions in the world, and the size of the fleet owned by China’s shipping companies has reached 249.2 million gross tons, becomes the world’s largest shipowning nation in terms of gross tonnage. And waterway freight accounts for about 17% of the national freight volume, while its cargo turnover accounts for about 54% of the total turnover in the transportation system. And the maritime transportation handles about 95% of China’s foreign trade volume and plays a key role in maintaining the safety and stability of both international and domestic logistics supply chains.
In terms of port cargo volume, China has consistently ranked first in the world for many years in both port cargo throughput and container throughput. Among the top ten ports globally for cargo and container throughput, China has 8 and 7 respectively. In 2022, China’s national port cargo throughput in China reached about 15.7 billion tons, with a container throughput of nearly 300 million TEUs.
In terms of inland waterway freight volume, China has ranked first in the world for many consecutive years. The Changjiang River has consistently been the world’s busiest inland waterway transportation route, known for its high volume of traffic. In 2022, China’s inland waterway transportation completed a freight volume of more than 4.4 billion tons and goods turnover of 1.9 trillion ton-kilometers, highlighting the significant support for the regional economic development and social progress.
In terms of the advancements in technology, China has constructed 16 Automated Container Terminals, with more than 10 currently under construction, both ranking first in the world. At present, the mileage covered by the national ENC (Electronic Navigational Charts) is more than 5700 kilometers.
Secondly, I would like to highlight China’s efforts and achievements in the river and marine conservation. Conservation of Nature is a precondition before we can exploit it. As Chinese President Xi Jinping put it in his keynote speech at the leaders’ summit of the COP15 (15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity), that we need to have deep reverence for Nature, respect Nature, follow Nature’s laws and protect Nature, so as to build a homeland of harmonious coexistence between man and Nature.
Oceans are the common home of humanity, whose development and preservation require our joint efforts. In 2019, President Xi Jinping proposed the important vision of building a maritime community with a shared future, charting the course for global ocean governance and providing China’s solution to developing and protecting the beautiful and prosperous oceans as our home.
It’s been five years since President Xi Jinping proposed building a maritime community with a shared future. Global scientists gathered in Barcelona from April 10 to 12 for the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference. As the conference theme “One World, One Ocean” suggests, humanity shares the responsibility for protecting the oceans and seas, reflecting our shared destiny.
China is committed dedicated to safeguarding and enriching marine biodiversity. For instance, monitoring surveys conducted from 2017 to 2021 indicated that the numberof Chinese white dolphins in a nature reserve within the Beibu Gulf and its surrounding waters was about 110. Later surveys in 2022 revealed an increase to over 150 individuals. Moreover, China opposes the discharge of nuclear contaminated water, making its own contribution to sustainable development of the ocean in the world. China adheres to the sustainable use of fishery resources, continue the fishing moratorium arrangements and take resolute countermeasures against illegal fishing.
China has also passed laws to protect the oceans. Last october, Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt a revised Marine Environment Protection Law and has taken effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Consisting of nine chapters, the newly revised law highlights prioritizing protection and tackling problems at their source, as well as coordinating activities on land and at sea to protect the ocean environment. The revised law underscores the protection of marine biodiversity, stresses strict control over pollution, and requires that measures be taken to prevent solid waste from entering the sea.
Lastly, I would like to discuss China’s experiences and ideas on the development of waterway transportation, and on the river and sea conservation, as well as the areas in which China and Nigeria can cooperate.
The new quality productive forces are an important driving force for the development of waterway transportation. The new quality productivity forces are innovation-led, oppose damage to the ecological environment, promoting the low-carbonization of economic and social development, and the collaborative development of high-quality economic development and high-level protection of the environment. The new quality productive forces introduce digitalization and intelligence into China’s inland waterway and maritime transport systems, and at the same time call for the protection of the oceans while exploiting their resources, so as to achieve sustainable development for all mankind.
Chinese companies such as CHEC (China Harbour Engineering Company), COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company), Lekki FTZ, among others, have introduced China's advanced technology and extensive experience in shipping and port operations to Nigeria. This has significantly contributed to the development of the Nigerian shipping industry and has played a key role in fostering economic prosperity in Nigeria. This January, I was invited to attend the Arrival Ceremony of the largest Container Vessel to Berth in Nigeria. The Lekki Deep Sea Port has been a significant milestone in the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road between China and Nigeria, and helped build Lagos into the safest region with the best business atmosphere in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria has many significant rivers, including the Niger River, the Osun River, the Cross River and so on, all holding immense potential for inland waterway transportation development. As the strategic partnership between China and Nigeria deepens and economic and trade relations develop, I can foresee the enhanced cooperation between our two countries in ports management, both inland and ocean shipping. Given their status as major nations, China and Nigeria should also try to reach consensus and strengthen collaboration in the field of river and marine conservation.
I will end my remarks here. And I expect to learn more about Nigeria’s practices regarding the development of inland waterway transportation and environmental conservation from today’s event. Also, we have representatives from Chinese enterprises in attendance today, and I hope that both China and Nigeria can use this occasion well to promote communication and collaboration.
Thank you all!