en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 10, 2026, the Port New Technology and New Equipment Exchange Conference was held in Dalian, Liaoning Province. The conference was jointly organized by the Inland River Port Branch of the China Ports Association and the Port Machinery Branch of the China Construction Machinery Society, and hosted by Haibo Development (Group) Co., Ltd. The conference focused on technical exchanges regarding port automation, informatization, intelligence, and standardization. Over 200 representatives from port enterprises, equipment manufacturing companies, research institutes, and universities across China attended the event to discuss the transformation and development path of inland river ports.

Chen Dongyuan, Executive Vice President of the Inland River Port Branch of the China Ports Association, stated in his address that according to the national top-level policies for inland river shipping development, three major directions should be focused on: first, upgrading terminal equipment to enhance overall hub efficiency, particularly by upgrading small and medium-sized terminal equipment according to local conditions to leverage the cost-reduction and efficiency-improvement advantages of inland river logistics; second, accelerating the implementation of technologies such as AI, digital twins, and intelligent scheduling to break down data silos and empower inland river ports through digital intelligence; third, relying on the branch platform to strengthen cross-basin and river-sea port collaboration, avoid vicious competition, and build a mutually beneficial and win-win port and shipping ecosystem. Chen Dongyuan stated that the branch will continue to use platforms such as technical exchange conferences and expert think tanks to promote the sharing of high-quality technologies and equipment.

Xiao Hanbin, Chairman of the Port Machinery Branch of the China Construction Machinery Society, pointed out that this joint conference represents a deep integration of the equipment technology side and the port application side, aiming to bridge the industry-academia-research-application chain and address frontline challenges in inland river ports. Xiao Hanbin put forward three hopes: drive innovation to tackle key technologies for inland river ports; adhere to openness and sharing to deepen cross-entity collaboration; and serve national strategies to contribute to building a strong transportation network and a strong maritime nation.

Focusing on the three major themes of new technology innovation, new equipment application, and new model implementation, the conference invited experts and scholars from six units, including Xiamen Port Holding Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Port Group Information Technology Co., Ltd., Haibo Ganglian Information Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., Wuhan University of Technology, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC), and Nanjing Port Machinery Heavy Industry Manufacturing Co., Ltd., to share insights on topics such as smart port innovation, AI technology application, new port service models, digital and intelligent transformation of inland rivers, container terminal equipment upgrades, and green intelligent equipment development. These six themes covered everything from top-level planning to frontline operations, providing references for equipment renewal and digital intelligence upgrades at inland river ports. Attending representatives stated that this exchange conference offered valuable insights for the transformation of inland river ports.