Core Viewpoint - The forum held on May 23, 2025, focused on promoting high-quality risk management development in the shipping industry, highlighting the importance of financial markets in supporting the growth and risk mitigation of the shipping sector [1][2]. Group 1: Development of Shanghai International Shipping Center - The healthy and stable development of the shipping industry is a crucial driver of global economic growth, with Shanghai's international shipping center progressing from "basically completed" to "fully completed" over the past two decades [2]. - Continuous efforts have led to the enhancement of Shanghai's sea and air hub capabilities, breakthroughs in the green and digital transformation of the shipping industry, and improvements in shipping service capabilities [2]. Group 2: Role of Futures Market - The introduction of the container shipping index (European line) futures has provided an efficient risk hedging tool for shipping companies, demonstrating its advantages during market fluctuations such as the Red Sea incident [2]. - As of April 30, 2025, the shipping index futures have operated smoothly for 410 trading days, with a cumulative trading volume of approximately 54.45 million contracts and a cumulative trading amount of about 4.7 trillion yuan [2]. - The trading volume of shipping index futures in 2024 was approximately 6.2 times that of other global exchanges' shipping derivatives during the same period, indicating significantly higher activity levels [2]. Group 3: Price Discovery and Risk Management - The price difference for the seven contracts of the container shipping index futures that have been delivered is controlled within 1%, showcasing the effectiveness of the price discovery and hedging functions of the index futures [3]. - A private foreign trade enterprise managed to offset shipping cost increases and reduce actual costs by participating in shipping index futures for hedging during tense situations in the Red Sea [3]. Group 4: Future Integration of Finance and Shipping - The deep integration of finance and shipping is expected to yield significant benefits, with ongoing collaboration between the China Shipowners' Association and Shanghai Futures Exchange to promote risk management capabilities in the industry [4]. - The Shanghai Shipping Exchange is enhancing its promotional efforts for indices and derivatives in major port cities, aiming to support the transition from traditional capacity competition to comprehensive risk management capability competition [4]. Group 5: Recommendations for Future Development - The China Shipowners' Association plans to continue acting as a bridge to help shipping companies understand and utilize futures tools effectively, while exploring innovative tools and service models [4][5]. - Suggestions include developing more regionally tailored derivative tools, enhancing industry training and market communication, and exploring integrated services that combine futures with logistics and insurance for comprehensive risk management [5].