From March 31 to April 2, 2025, Xiao Jie, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), led a research team to Shanghai to conduct specialized research on maritime adjudication. Huang Lixin, Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Zhu Zhongming, Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, participated in relevant activities.

Jiang Zhuoqing, member of the NPC Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the NPC’s Commission for Supervision and Administration of Law Enforcement, along with Gao Youdong and other committee members, joined the research. During their stay in Shanghai, the team visited institutions including the Shanghai Maritime Court, China COSCO Shipping Group Co., Ltd., Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., and Yangshan Deep-Water Port. They also held symposiums to hear reports from the Shanghai Higher People’s Court, Shanghai Maritime Court, Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, and Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission.

Xiao Jie, representing the research team, fully affirmed the remarkable achievements of Shanghai’s maritime adjudication work in recent years. He emphasized the need to thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, enhance political awareness, fully implement the holistic national security concept, and fully leverage the role of maritime adjudication. He called for comprehensively exercising maritime judicial jurisdiction over China’s territorial waters, resolutely safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, continuously improving maritime judicial efficiency, focusing on accelerating the mission of building the “Five Centers,” actively addressing judicial demands in port construction and shipping logistics, innovating adjudication mechanisms, enhancing trial quality, protecting the legitimate rights of seafarers, reinforcing judicial safeguards for marine ecological protection, and advancing high-quality maritime economic development through the rule of law. He urged proactive participation in global marine governance, international maritime rule-making, strengthened international exchanges and cooperation, and the cultivation of maritime adjudication teams to boost judicial credibility and influence, aiming to build Shanghai into a preferred venue for resolving maritime disputes.

Huang Lixin stated that under the leadership of the municipal Party committee, Shanghai’s maritime adjudication work has closely aligned with the national strategy for building a strong maritime nation and the city’s socioeconomic development. The city has diligently implemented relevant laws and regulations, innovated judicial mechanisms, and contributed to refining China’s maritime adjudication system and strengthening the legal framework for Shanghai’s international shipping hub. The Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress will use this research as an opportunity to enhance legislative oversight, improve legal safeguards for the digital, intelligent, and green transformation of shipping, support Shanghai in becoming a preferred venue for resolving international maritime disputes, and contribute to advancing the national strategy for a strong maritime nation and accelerating the development of the “Five Centers.”

Zhou Huilin, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee; Jia Yu, President of the Shanghai Higher People’s Court; Xu Peng, Chairman of China State Shipbuilding Corporation; and Wan Min, Chairman of China COSCO Shipping Group, were among those who participated in the activities.