On November 17, 2025, World Maritime Merchants Forum 2025 opened in Hong Kong, China. The forum was hosted by China Merchants Group, and co-hosted by the Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA).

Distinguished guests in attendance included Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Zhou Ji, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR and Fu Xuyin, Vice Minister of Transport. Miao Jianmin, Chairman of China Merchants Group, delivered a keynote speech, while Shi Dai, President of the Group, participated in the opening ceremony’s launch event.

Over 1,300 guests and leaders from global shipping, ports, trade, logistics, financial institutions, and industry regulators attended the event. Since its inception in 2021, the Forum has been successfully held four times in Hong Kong, serving as a key platform and landmark event for global shipping industry exchanges. This year, it once again partnered with Hong Kong Maritime Week under the theme Seeking Sustainability Through Changes, bringing together industry experts and elites from the global shipping chain to explore the industry’s transformation towards efficiency, greenness, and sustainability amid complex and changing economic and trade patterns.

Leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial, trade, and shipping center, the event aimed to enhance the city’s role as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, contributing to a fair, open, and collaborative new pattern for global shipping trade.