China's international influence in maritime finance and insurance continues to grow.

On October 20th, reporters learned from the "Finance and Insurance" themed forum of the 2026 North Bund International Shipping Forum that by the end of 2025, the asset scale of China's leasing fleet will account for 8.2% of the global total, with over 3,100 leased ships and a total of 180 million tons, leading in scale globally. In 2025, China's marine cargo insurance premiums ranked first globally, and marine hull insurance premiums ranked second globally. Since the listing of the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (Europe Line) futures three years ago, the cumulative transaction volume exceeded 6 trillion yuan, with the 2025 trading volume approximately five times the total of similar overseas varieties. China's international influence in shipping finance and insurance continues to grow.

The "Finance and Insurance" themed forum was jointly organized by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange Research Institute (under preparation), the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd., and the Shanghai Shipping Insurance Association. Deputy Minister of Transport Li Xinghu attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the China Classification Society, the China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, and the Hong Kong Shipowners Association jointly released the "Comprehensive Risk Protection and Insurance Innovation Initiative for Intelligent Ships," promoting collaboration among shipowners, classification societies, and insurance organizations to improve intelligent ship risk control certification. China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Maritime University launched the "Green Shipping Risk Governance and Insurance Innovation North Bund Initiative" and established a Green Shipping Risk Governance and Insurance Innovation Laboratory. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange unveiled the Shanghai International Ship Valuation Platform, creating an autonomous and controlled intelligent ship valuation system. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange Research Institute (under preparation) introduced seven new routes in the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) and launched the 2026 edition of the template service contract linked to the container freight index. The "Model Case on Selecting Shanghai Arbitration Clause for International Ship Charter Agreements" was released, with COSCO Shipping Lines and Seaspan selecting Shanghai as the arbitration location in a newly signed charter agreement.