Recently, the World Class Marine Port Cluster and International Logistics Corridor Construction Promotion Conference was held in Qingdao. At the meeting, the "World Class Marine Port Cluster Comprehensive Index Report (2024)" compiled by Xinhua Index Research Institute was officially released. This report outlines the overall picture of 19 distinctive advanced port clusters around the world through data, demonstrating the advanced form of world port development in the new era; Analyze the trends and structural changes in RCEP maritime trade, objectively reflecting global trade trends. The report shows that the overall development trend of China's port cluster is leading. From the perspective of comprehensive indicators, the ports in the central part of the Yangtze River Delta, Shandong, southern part of the Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta, together with the ports in Tokyo Bay and New York New Jersey, rank in the first tier of world-class marine port clusters. The Chinese port cluster has become a globally significant interconnected port community with high operational efficiency, advanced infrastructure, and excellent comprehensive service capabilities, significantly enhancing its international competitiveness. Among them, the "World Class Marine Port Cluster Development Index" constructs a comprehensive evaluation model from the perspective of port cluster development, setting 7 primary indicators including infrastructure, production scale, hinterland support, operational capacity, high-quality development, collaborative development, and comprehensive service system, as well as 23 secondary indicators. While considering the hardware conditions of ports, it also considers the coordination between ports, the integration of port industry and city development, and the construction of comprehensive service system. From the perspective of the production scale level of port clusters, Chinese port clusters are generally in a leading position internationally. This is not only due to the advantages of Chinese port clusters in terms of port integration quantity and resources, but also due to the incremental benefits achieved by Chinese port clusters in collaborative development. In terms of hinterland support, the report shows that the port clusters in the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region have relatively strong support from the hinterland with the help of the huge domestic market and economic growth. The development momentum of the Shandong port cluster is good, synchronized with the growth of the hinterland economy. The coordinated development of GDP, foreign trade imports and exports, business environment, and investment attractiveness in the hinterland has provided strong support for the Shandong port cluster. In terms of infrastructure level, the ports in the central part of the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta, and the Shandong port cluster have strong strength and excellent performance in terminal operation capabilities. In terms of green and digital development, the central port cluster, Shandong port cluster, and southern port cluster in the Yangtze River Delta have performed outstandingly, especially in the construction of fully automated terminals and the level of green ship fuel refueling services, which are at the forefront of the world. In terms of the coordinated development level and comprehensive service system of port clusters, Shandong Port Cluster is at the forefront of the world. From a "group of ports" to a world-class "port cluster", the seven major ports in Shandong have developed in a staggered manner, promoting and advancing each other, innovating and creating a leading integrated operation blueprint, injecting strong impetus into enhancing the regional economic level. While consolidating traditional freight business, extending industrial services, and building a comprehensive supply chain service system, its financial services, trade business, fleet transportation, and foreign trade route network have all reached world-class levels. Creatively releasing 14 commodity indices including crude oil tank capacity, promoting domestic and international dual circulation of commodities, and enhancing the resilience and safety of industrial and supply chains. Li Zongquan, the head of global port and shipping index research and development at Xinhua Index Research Institute, stated that the current global industrial and trade chains are deeply integrated, port service functions are continuously upgraded, and cluster integration is accelerating. Based on the development of various port clusters around the world, each group has demonstrated unique competitive advantages. Although there are differences in development strategies, the unified coordination and management of the port cluster, as well as clear division of labor and cooperation, will be the key to the sustainable development of the port cluster. In the future, the integrated and collaborative construction of a comprehensive service system will be an indispensable element of the global advanced port cluster. The "RCEP Maritime Trade Index" released at the same time of the conference shows that in 2023, China's goods exports accounted for 14.2% of the global goods trade volume, maintaining its position as the largest country in goods trade for seven consecutive years. One third of the increase in global maritime trade volume comes from China, which remains the "stabilizer" of global trade. The RCEP maritime trade index is 102.3, a slight increase of 0.9 compared to the previous year, reaching the highest value in the past six years, and the Chinese port cluster has ushered in good development opportunities. It is reported that since 2010, the overall scale of China's manufacturing industry has ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years, driving the development of a large number of goods import and export and port transportation. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, in the first half of 2024, China's ports completed a cargo throughput of 8.56 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%; Completed a container throughput of 160 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Along with the growth of maritime transportation, port construction continues. In the first half of the year, China added 7 large automated terminals, ranking first in the world in terms of the number of automated terminals built or under construction. Container shipping routes cover more than 100 countries and regions, and the global maritime connectivity ranks first in the world. (New Society)