PortEconomics co-director Prof. Theo Notteboom will lead the newly established Center of Eurasian Maritime and Inland Logistics (CEMIL) of Shanghai Maritime University (SMU), which was inaugurated in Shanghai on Nov 20, 2017. The research center is part of the China Insititute of FTZ Supply Chain, a key institute of SMU. CEMIL’s mission is ‘Bridging Asia and Europe through maritime and logistics research’.
SMU President Huang Youfang shaking hands with CEMIL Director & PortEconomics co-director Prof. Theo Notteboom during the unveiling of the CEMIL inauguration plaque on 20 November 2017 in Shanghai
CEMIL’s permanent staff and associate experts are committed to promote a better understanding of seaside and landside logistics for an improved connectivity in and between Europe and Asia based on in-depth research and experience. Next to deploying in-house expertise, CEMIL also teams up with the world’s top research centers in the field to initiate new research tracks relevant to transport and logistics on the Asia-Europe trade route. The center’s focus is on business and policy relevant research based on academic rigour. CEMIL will strongly focus on the academic valorization of research outcomes via publications in academic journals and books. CEMIL will also host international events and round tables in view of research exchange and discussion.
During the inauguration ceremony of CEMIL in Shanghai, SMU president Huang Youfang underlined the long history of SMU in communicating and cooperating with European universities and research centers. The Belt and Road initiative initiated in 2013 by PRC’s president Xi Jinping created a great momentum and golden opportunity for Chinese universities to strengthen joint research activities with overseas partners. President Huang noted that “The establishment of CEMIL provides an important platform for Chinese and European scholars to engage in research and cooperation in maritime and logistics, widening both parties’ horizons in the field”. Along the same lines, SMU Vice-President Yan Wei said that “We have a shared responsibility to enhance a closer communication between China and Europe in maritime and logistics research”. CEMIL’s Director, Theo Notteboom, pointed out that the new center will actively contribute to current managerial and policy debates on economic, logistic and maritime relations between Asia/China and Europe.
CEMIL of SMU is located in one of the world’s largest and most dynamic maritime and logistics hubs. The port of Shanghai is the world’s largest container port handling 37.1 million TEU in 2016, and the world’s second port in terms of overall cargo throughput. The port is a major gateway to China (in particular to the vast Yangtze basin) and home to world-leading maritime and logistics companies such as Cosco and SIPG. Shanghai is a key city in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy of the Chinese government. Shanghai Maritime University (SMU) is a multi-disciplinary university that encompasses areas in engineering, management, economics, law and science, with a special emphasis on shipping technology, economics and management. SMU was established by the Ministry of Communications in 1959. SMU has over 20,000 full-time students, of whom over 17,000 are undergraduates and over 3,000 are postgraduate students. As a “cradle of international shipping specialists”, the university has produced specialists of various types at various levels for the country’s shipping industry. SMU has established close ties with over 70 institutions around the world and keeps close contacts with international shipping organizations and institutions, such as International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The CEMIL offices are located at the Lingang new campus of Shanghai Maritime University, a new urban and business area developed in proximity of the 32 km Donghai bridge which gives access to the vast Yangshan container port complex of the port of Shanghai. CEMIL can be reached via [email protected] .
