Silk Road Maritime expands to 153 ports as trade network stabilizes

The integration of Gdansk—Europe’s largest deep-water container terminal—into the maritime network creates a bidirectional channel for trade. Zhang Bijun, representing the Port of Gdansk Authority, noted that the route facilitates more efficient movement for both Chinese goods and Polish exports like premium cosmetics and agricultural products. This expansion underscores a broader trend identified at the Xiamen forum, where industry leaders discussed how the platform serves as a stabilizer for global supply chains facing persistent volatility.

Jan Van der Borght of the Antwerp-Bruges Port Authority highlighted the platform as a mechanism for accelerating decarbonization and digital transformation in shipping. With the addition of 12 new routes this year, the network now encompasses 160 named lines. Since its inception eight years ago, the initiative has facilitated over 25,000 vessel calls and handled more than 30 million 20-foot equivalent units of cargo. As a primary pillar of the Belt and Road Initiative, the project increasingly focuses on high-value, tech-heavy exports, moving beyond traditional port-to-port collaboration toward complex, multi-modal logistics and green investment partnerships.