Capt. Xu Lirong Wins 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award

2021-03-03 13:32By： COSCO SHIPPING

Capt. Xu Lirong Wins 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for the Seatrade Maritime Awards International

On March 1, the awarding ceremony of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for the Seatrade Maritime Awards International, jointly organized by Informa PLC and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was held in Shanghai. Mr. Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, announced via video connection that Capt. Xu Lirong, Chairman of COSCO SHIPPING, is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2020. Vice Mayor of Shanghai Mr. Zhang Wei was invited to present the award to Capt. Xu. Mr. Gu Jinshan, Chairman of SIPG, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers. Event Director of Seatrade Maritime Mr. Chris Morley and Executive Vice President of Seatrade China Ms. Li Xiaoli witnessed the event virtually in the UK and Singapore respectively. Relevant leaders of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Transport, SIPG and COSCO SHIPPING were also present at the event.

Chairman of Seatrade Mr. Chris Hayman announces that Capt. Xu Lirong is the winner of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Seatrade Maritime Awards International

The Lifetime Achievement Award of the Seatrade Maritime Awards International 2020

Mr. Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, said in the speech that Seatrade launched the Seatrade Awards in the City of London with the full support of the IMO in 1989, and the project has continued and developed on an annual basis since then. Seatrade Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the shipping and maritime industry. Throughout his distinguished career, Capt. Xu Lirong has been fully focused on exploring new channels of international cooperation in shipping and logistics, to match China's engagement in the global economy, while also promoting a new ecology and a digital transformation for the industry. Especially in 2020, the pandemic experience has demonstrated emphatically his crucial role in the facilitation of essential trade via international shipping.

Speaking on behalf of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Vice Mayor Zhang Wei said that it is a well-deserved honor for Capt. Xu Lirong. Shanghai, as a world shipping hub, is a worthy pillar of the international transportation network. As a world-class shipping enterprise registered in Shanghai, COSCO SHIPPING carries 1/10th of the world's cargo with 1/17th of the world's fleet capacity. It is the only integrator of the whole industry chain in the world shipping industry today, providing customers with a full range of services under the industrial ecology, including shipping, logistics, ports, finance and manufacturing. As chairman of COSCO SHIPPING who has made great contributions to the Chinese and even world shipping industry, Capt. Xu Lirong and many other industry pioneers believe that China and the world at large need a high-quality connection, of which the Chinese shipping industry should and have the capability to be the backbone. The achievements made over years of hard work and exploration have manifested the shared path taken by Capt. Xu and his fellow trailblazers in China. The spirit of Shanghai, “Tolerance and Diversity, Pursuit of Excellence, Enlightened Wisdom, and Humility”, is a genuine reflection of the spirit of the industry practitioners represented by Capt. Xu Lirong. Mr. Zhang Wei also said that forty years of reform and opening up has brought sweeping changes to Shanghai, to China, to the world and even to the shipping industry. The Shanghai Municipal Government will continue to improve the city's business environment, promote marketization, rule of law and internationalization, and continue to fully support the development of the shipping industry.

Mr. Gu Jinshan, Chairman of SIPG, also said in his speech that Capt. Xu Lirong has made great contributions to the shipping industry in China and the world at large. Under his leadership, the integration of COSCO and China SHIPPING created the world’s largest shipping enterprise, COSCO SHIPPING. And in just five years after the integration, he led the new corporation to achieve enormous changes, which had a significant impact on the development pattern of the global shipping industry, in both the East and West. COSCO SHIPPING has also became a model for the integration of large enterprises in China and even for that of global shipping companies.

Capt. Xu Lirong said in his acceptance speech that the award is a recognition not only to an individual, but also to COSCO SHIPPING as a whole. Shipping plays an important role in ensuring the prosperity and stability of the world economy, and has made an extraordinary contribution to the development of human civilization. This award will inspire more youngsters to dedicate themselves to the shipping industry for the continued progress of the industry and human society. Especially since last year, in the face of a global rampant pandemic, the international maritime industry, including COSCO SHIPPING, pulled together to overcome various difficulties to safeguard global trade and ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain. In the future, the international shipping industry will continue to ride the waves and contribute further to the economic globalization.

In 1989, the Seatrade Maritime Awards International was launched in London, England. Known as the “Oscars of the shipping industry”, it is the oldest and also one of the most influential maritime and shipping awards at the highest level in the global shipping industry. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the most important individual award in the Seatrade Maritime Awards.

Source: COSCO SHIPPING

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