More than 80 representatives from port and shipping enterprises, maritime‑finance institutions, shipping lines and research organisations across the UK and Europe attended the event in‑person.
Li Peng, Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom; Ye Zhihang, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Seaport Group and Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group; and Mark Williams, Chief Executive of Maritime London, were present and delivered opening addresses.
Among the distinguished on‑site guests were Professor Michael Mainelli, President of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London; Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary‑General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); Clemence Cheng, Executive Director of Hutchison Port Holdings and Managing Director of Hutchison Ports Europe; José Alberto Carbonell, President of the Port Authority of Barcelona; Mar Chao, President of the Port Authority of Valencia; Ean Yong Hian Wah, Chairman of Port Klang Authority; Christopher Durkin, Chairman of West London Chamber of Commerce for Technology; Chris Goldsworthy, Chief Executive of the IMarEST; Tim Power, Managing Director of Drewry.
Senior representatives from Peel Ports Group, Port of Felixstowe, Port of Rotterdam, Port of Antwerp‑Bruges, Port Esbjerg, Port Authority of the Algeciras Bay, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo), IFM Investors, COSCO, CMA、EMC, MSC, HPL and HMM also joined the gathering. A large number of port‑shipping stakeholders worldwide participated virtually.
Cai Linlin, Director of the Strategy and Legal Affairs Department at Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group, presented MPF 2027 from three perspectives: “More Than Ports, Rooted in China, Truly Global, More Than a Conference”. She extended a global invitation to industry peers to gather in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, from 25 to 27 May 2027 for this flagship port‑shipping event.
Launched in 2015, MPF is one of China’s earliest‑established and most well‑developed international professional forums for the port and shipping sector. Rooted in the maritime ecosystem, it has earned broad support and recognition at home and abroad. Having held ten successful editions so far, MPF has welcomed over 10,000 participants from more than 120 countries and regions across six continents.
He Haixing, Director of the Business Department of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. , gave a corporate presentation under the theme “Linking the Globe, Serving the World”. His presentation covered five key dimensions: geographical advantages and terminal capacity, global shipping network, operational efficiency and service assurance, green‑low‑carbon transition, and inland multimodal transport. He put forward four potential areas for joint collaboration: developing premium shipping routes, co‑investing in overseas terminals and logistics parks, building end‑to‑end logistics solutions for cross‑border e‑commerce, and jointly constructing green shipping corridors.
As a critical hub underpinning China’s foreign trade and the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Ningbo Zhoushan Port operates 313 shipping services including 261 international services, connecting more than 600 ports in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Between January and September 2026, the port handled 34.657 million TEUs of containers, representing a 6.7 % year‑on‑year increase and ranking it the world’s second‑busiest container port.
A panel discussion themed “The Future of Smart Ports” was held during the salon. Panelists exchanged insights on technological pathways for smart port development, security governance and global supply‑chain resilience. Participants agreed that smart port development should prioritise efficiency, safety and service delivery. Progress needs to be advanced across four pillars: security governance, data management, talent development and platform construction, to shift port digitalisation from isolated point‑based intelligence toward system‑wide holistic intelligence.
