The "Regulations on Inland Navigation in Henan Province" was voted and passed by the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress and will come into effect on July 1, 2026. As the first comprehensive local regulation in the field of inland river shipping in Henan Province, the regulation aims to coordinate the planning and construction of waterways and ports, establish a hierarchical management mechanism, solidify the layout of "two vertical, two horizontal, four trunk and six branches" waterways, and set up a special chapter on "development and guarantee" to promote the development of port industry and multimodal transport, break the bottleneck of shipping development by legal means, and promote the high-quality development of inland shipping.

On April 10, 2025, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, met in Beijing with a delegation led by Zheng Liwen, Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang. Xi Jinping emphasized that compatriots on both sides of the strait belong to the Chinese nation, have jointly created a splendid civilization, and forged a common belief that the country is inseparable. He pointed out that no matter how the situation in the Taiwan Strait changes, the general trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait going closer will not change. Xi Jinping put forward four points, including insisting on promoting spiritual harmony with correct identity, guarding the common homeland with peaceful development, enhancing people's livelihood and well-being through exchanges and integration, and achieving national rejuvenation through unity and struggle. Both sides expressed their willingness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and jointly create the future of national rejuvenation on the basis of adhering to the "1992 consensus" and opposing "Taiwan independence.

On April 9, 2026, the Ministry of Transport held a video deployment meeting on highway safety risk management and control during the flood season to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the central government, study and judge the flood control situation and deploy key tasks. The meeting emphasized the need to improve political positions, strengthen bottom-line thinking, resolutely overcome paralysis, and build a strong line of defense by tightening the chain of responsibility and consolidating the foundation of work. The meeting called for the full implementation of various tasks such as the investigation and rectification of hidden risks, strengthening early warning response and highway inspections, and improving active defense and emergency capabilities, aiming to improve the level of road safety and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration successfully implemented the first case of mutual recognition of sea-going ship inspection in the Yangtze River Delta, helping an Anhui ship with safety defects to complete temporary inspection nearby. This move is based on the "Deepening the Yangtze River Delta Regional Ship Inspection and Mutual Recognition Pilot Implementation Plan", through the "nearby application, inspection, certification" principle, to solve the problem of off-site operation of ship inspection, effectively reduce the ship's time and economic costs, marking the Yangtze River Delta ship inspection integration reform in the sea area to take effect.

During the Qingming Festival holiday in 2026 (April 4-6), the cross-regional movement of people in the whole society reached 0.843 billion, with an average of 0.281 billion per day, an increase of 5.6 per cent over the same period last year. Among them, waterway passenger traffic increased by 8.4 percent year-on-year, showing outstanding performance; railway passenger traffic increased by 8.4 percent year-on-year, and civil aviation passenger traffic increased slightly by 1.6 percent. On the last day of the holiday (April 6), the number of people moving reached 0.276 billion, up 3.5 from the previous month, showing the characteristics of the return peak.

On March 27, the Ministry of Transport held a ministerial meeting to convey the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech and to deploy and implement the work. The meeting focused on supporting the high-quality construction of Xiong'an New Area, requiring the improvement of external transportation, the construction of an efficient road network, the deepening of station-city integration, and the promotion of green, low-carbon and intelligent transportation development. At the same time, the meeting listened to the report on the construction of the "Four Good Rural Roads", reviewed the main points of work in 2026, and stressed the need to speed up the improvement of the rural transportation system, implement rural road upgrading actions, enhance safety and resilience, promote the integration of rural passenger, freight and postal services and industrial linkage, and provide solid transportation guarantee for rural revitalization.

On March 25, the first domestic inland river port and shipping data assets held by Huai'an Port City Industrial Investment and Development Co., Ltd. were officially listed on the Shanghai Data Exchange. The asset is based on the real-time dynamic data accumulated by the "Ship to the World" freight platform covering the entire chain of waterway and road transportation across the country, covering 51 data dimensions and 5515 lines of core fields, with a total storage capacity of 2.8TB. At the listing ceremony, Gangcheng signed a credit intention cooperation agreement with a number of banks, marking an important breakthrough in the market-oriented allocation of data elements in the field of inland river ports and shipping, and injecting new momentum into the digital upgrading and sustainable development of the industry.

The OECD released its latest economic outlook report, which expects global economic growth to be 2.9 per cent in 2026 and rebound slightly to 3.0 per cent in 2027. The report pointed out that the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East has led to soaring energy prices and rising uncertainty, pushing up business costs and curbing demand, dragging down global economic growth prospects. The report also predicts changes in the growth rate of major economies such as the United States and the Eurozone, and warns that if energy supply continues to be blocked, it may further increase inflation and curb growth. Countries need to respond with monetary, fiscal and structural policies.

The "Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Ship Pollution in the Yangtze River in Jiangxi Province" will be formally implemented on August 15, 2026, marking that the prevention and control of ship pollution in the Yangtze River in Jiangxi Province has entered a new stage of legalization and standardization. The regulations took 14 months to complete the legislation efficiently, focusing on the ecological protection of the Yangtze River, clarifying the statutory requirements for "zero discharge" of pollutants from ships, and filling the gaps in local legislation. As the core unit of drafting and practice, Jiujiang Maritime Safety Administration is deeply involved in the legislative process, which provides a solid practical basis for the regulations. After the implementation of the regulations, it will promote the green transformation of Yangtze River shipping and help the coordinated development of ecological and economic benefits.

On March 25, 2026, the 307000-ton super-large oil tanker "Junwang" independently developed and built by China Shipbuilding Dalian Shipbuilding was delivered ahead of schedule. The ship has a huge volume, about 333 meters long, a deck area of more than 18000 square meters, and advanced design. It adopts a number of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies such as high-efficiency propellers and exhaust gas desulfurization devices. The comprehensive energy-saving effect is remarkable, and the annual fuel cost can be saved by about 35 million yuan. It has good port and waterway adaptability.

At the beginning of the new year, the Shandong Branch of the Export-Import Bank of China issued a letter of guarantee for the advance payment of domestic and foreign ships for Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. to support enterprises to undertake domestic and foreign ship orders. Taking advantage of the ship financing brand, the bank efficiently completed the whole process of letter of guarantee application, review and issuance in view of the capital-intensive and long cycle characteristics of the shipbuilding industry, and ensured the smooth start of ship construction with policy financial forces to help the high-quality development of the shipbuilding industry.

In 2025, the international market share of the three major indicators of China's shipbuilding industry (shipbuilding completion, new orders received, and hand-held orders) will rank first in the world, with new green ship orders accounting for 69.2 per cent. The global shipbuilding market is expected to remain stable in 2026, and China's shipbuilding completion will exceed 60 million dwt. At the same time, the article points out that the industry is facing geopolitical, supply chain security and other challenges, and puts forward some development suggestions in 2026, such as focusing on "ship protection", exploring the green intelligent ship market and cultivating new growth points of marine economy.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on March 22, setting out its principles of passage in the Strait of Hormuz. The statement emphasized that the Strait has not been blocked, but Iran has taken necessary security measures in response to the US-Israeli military aggression. The statement clearly distinguishes between the conditions of passage for hostile and non-hostile vessels, stating that only non-hostile vessels that comply with Iran's security regulations will be allowed safe passage. At the same time, the Iranian foreign minister stressed that the prerequisite for restoring regional stability is to stop military threats and actions against Iran. The move is a direct response to US President Trump's previous threatening remarks.

China Tourism Group and China Shipbuilding Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly promote the mass construction and series operation of large cruise ships. The two sides will integrate the soft power of China Travel Service Group's cultural tourism operation and the hard power of China Shipping Group's equipment manufacturing, so as to realize the whole chain from market demand, ship design to construction and operation. This move marks that China's cruise industry has officially entered a new stage with independent innovation as the core. It aims to promote the high-quality development of the local cruise industry chain and enhance China's voice in the global high-end ship market.

On March 19, the China International Sustainable Transportation Innovation and Knowledge Center and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank jointly held a seminar on logistics development in Central Asia in Beijing and released the "Central Asia Logistics Research Report". The report systematically evaluates the logistics development status of the four Central Asian countries, and puts forward the regional logistics network layout plan of "one core corridor and three key directions" and the list of the first batch of key projects. The conference brought together representatives of transportation departments, international organizations and enterprises in Central Asia to discuss cooperation opportunities, promote regional logistics interconnection, and provide financial and intellectual support for high-quality infrastructure projects.