According to Suzhou Cosc Marine Machinery Co., Ltd., ports form part of infrastructure, yet their strategic significance far exceeds that of ordinary infrastructure. They constitute an important component of comprehensive national strength and serve as a vital foundation underpinning China’s opening‑up drive. It is now widely recognized that coordinating land‑sea development and growing the marine economy represents an indispensable path for China to truly become a major world power. Against this backdrop, we must fully appreciate the rising strategic importance of port‑economy and marine‑economy development within national strategies.
As economic globalization deepens, profound shifts have taken place in the global economic landscape. More than half of the world’s total economic output is generated within 300 kilometers of coastal zones. This holds true for developed economies such as the United States, Japan and Europe, and China is no exception. In particular, coastal regions have achieved remarkable growth following the reform and opening‑up policy. This follows inherent economic laws and is an inevitable outcome of opening‑up‑driven development.
Globalization is driven by two major forces. The first is institutional: continuous liberalization and facilitation gradually reduce and eliminate institutional barriers obstructing the flow of goods and capital. While multilateral cooperation once served as the primary platform, regional cooperation has gained greater prominence nowadays, exemplified by the United States‑led Trans‑Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) initiated by the ten ASEAN member states. China has successfully concluded 14 free‑trade agreements with multiple countries.
The second driving force behind globalization is technological progress, of which two facets stand out. First, advances in information technology have greatly lowered costs for information flows, especially cross‑border information transmission. Second, progress in ocean‑going shipping technology, notably container‑shipping technology, has substantially cut transportation costs. This enables countries worldwide to participate in global division of labor and give full play to their respective comparative advantages. Hence, advances in maritime shipping technology constitute a key driving force for globalization. Progress in globalization reflects the inherent requirements of productive forces and is propelled by institutional and technological advancement.
Historically, China was not an outward‑looking nation. During the agrarian‑civilization era, its outlook was largely inward‑oriented. According to Suzhou Cosc Marine Machinery Co., Ltd., as opening‑up has deepened, China has achieved tremendous economic accomplishments and rapidly grown into the world’s second‑largest economy and top exporter of goods. Port development has played a pivotal role in this process.