New report reveals China’s key strengths across green shipping corridor building blocks

A recent report from the Global Maritime Forum has highlighted China's growing dominance in the development of green shipping corridors. According to the study titled 'Green shipping corridors: How China is re-energising the global movement', nearly 20% of the world's corridor initiatives are now connecting to Chinese ports. This groundbreaking report was presented at the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit 2026 in Shanghai.

The report evaluates China's progress against four key building blocks essential for initiating a successful green corridor. These building blocks consist of viable zero-emission fuel and technology pathways, cross-value-chain collaboration, an enabling policy environment, and customer demand.

China's performance across the first three building blocks is notably strong. The nation is a pioneer in producing green methanol and ammonia and is at the forefront of marine battery development. It is also increasingly engaged in cross-value chain collaborations and is progressively enhancing its green hydrogen policies.

However, the report reveals that customer demand for China's zero-emission fuels, the fourth building block, is currently lagging behind. Despite this, the report identifies multiple opportunities for China to enhance demand mobilisation. These opportunities include employing policy mechanisms to narrow the cost gap and further expanding infrastructure for methanol, ammonia, and battery electric ships.

Jesse Fahnestock, the director of decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum, expressed optimism about China's potential to leverage its existing strengths across the building blocks. He pointed out that even since the completion of the report, there have been numerous announcements of progress in these areas, which is a highly encouraging sign.