Shinan International Center for Shipping, Trade and Financial Innovation is founded in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province on July 7. [Photo/qdsn.gov.cn]

The opening ceremony for Shinan International Center for Shipping, Trade and Financial Innovation was held in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province on July 7.

The center is a free, one-stop public platform for shipping enterprises. Located in Qingdao COSCO Plaza, the center covers more than 400 square meters. It was designed to integrate various functions, including administrative services, information sharing, exhibitions, academic research and training, personnel exchanges and policy promotion. It is expected to help cut costs for enterprises, speed up the aggregation of shipping-service enterprises, form a shipping industrial park and build an ecosystem for a large logistics industry.

The first formation of the Shinan Shipping Think Tank comprised 11 experts, including Doug Barrow, a representative of the United Kingdom's Department of International Trade to China, and Mark Yong, senior executive of Asia-Pacific region of BMT Group. They provide intellectual and talent support for the center to drive the development of the shipping service industry in Qingdao.

Shinan district has taken a series of measures to better capitalize on its shipping resources. It has accelerated the aggregation of the modern shipping service industry and promoted trade with Japan and South Korea. It has prioritized the improvement of policy mechanisms and released a series of support policies. The district has also managed to innovate the investment promotion model and established a leading group, a decision-making mechanism and an executing agency. A guidance fund was also established to support shipping industries.

The district will further promote the development of the shipping, trade and finance industries and speed up construction of a supporting region for the center, supporting Qingdao's efforts to become an open, modern, energetic and fashionable international metropolis.