Shanghai's evolution into an international shipping center has entered a critical transition from scale expansion to capacity enhancement as the city prepares for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, experts said.

Having held the title of the world's largest container port for 16 consecutive years, the port of Shanghai handled 55.06 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) throughout 2025, targeting an annual container throughput of 58 million TEUs during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, said Chu Beiping, president of Shanghai Maritime University, during the Shanghai International Shipping Center Capacity Enhancement Think Tank Forum held in Shanghai on Tuesday. The forum is jointly held by the Shanghai Federation of Social Science Association and Shanghai Maritime University.

"The growth in scale is merely part of capacity enhancement during the building of Shanghai International Shipping Center. What's more important is talent supply, rule-making capacity, and competition for international discourse influence. These are key to elevating the status and capability of the Shanghai International Shipping Center, and to achieve the goal requires deep collaboration among government, industry, universities, and research institutions," Chu said.

Chu suggested that the industry focus on emerging needs by developing new interdisciplinary fields, jointly cultivating professionals with cross-disciplinary integration capabilities, and building a knowledge hub that is demand-driven, collaboration-based, and underpinned by global standards development.

Representing the highest level of China's shipping center development, Shanghai serves as the stabilizer of the world's port and shipping development, providing support for China's opening-up and supply chain stability, said Liu Xin, director of the Transport Planning and Research Institute Ministry of Transport.

"To become a globally leading international shipping center, Shanghai should sharpen its soft power during the 15th Five-Year Plan period," Liu said.

According to Liu, the focus will be put on enhancing four key capabilities, including facility resilience and safety, global shipping resource allocation, leadership in intelligent and green development, and comprehensive ability in financial and legal support.

"Shanghai should strive to achieve comprehensive leadership in scale and efficiency, resilience and security, integrated services, intelligence and green development, and economic vitality," Liu added.