On the afternoon of September 3rd, an evaluation meeting on the joint construction and governance of the eastern gateway of the Yangtze River shipping was held in Taicang. Representatives from Jiangsu Taicang Port Management Committee, Taicang People's Procuratorate, Yangtze River Piloting Center, Yangtze Estuary Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Bureau, Yangtze River Shanghai Waterway Bureau, China Classification Society Jiangyin Office, Taicang Meteorological Bureau, Nantong Maritime Safety Administration, and Changshu Maritime Safety Administration gathered to discuss cooperation and shared development, collectively signing the 2026 Agreement on Joint Construction and Governance of Channel Safety at the Eastern Gateway of Yangtze River Shipping.

This agreement represents a systematic elevation of five years of collaborative experience, expanding the membership from six to nine entities. The newly added members include the Taicang People's Procuratorate, Taicang Meteorological Bureau, and China Classification Society Jiangyin Office, bringing synchronized support in legal supervision, precision meteorological early warning, and professional technical information services. The Taicang section of the Yangtze River, spanning the southernmost 38.8 kilometers of the main waterway, serves as the primary gateway and strategic passage for vessels entering the river and heading to sea. With an average of nearly 50,000 oceangoing vessels transiting annually, 500,000 vessels passing through per year, and 100 million tons of hazardous chemicals transported through the area each year, the region's unique geographical position demands a collaborative approach rather than isolated efforts to safeguard this critical passage.

In June 2021, the Taicang Maritime Safety Administration united with the first batch of six member units to establish the "Joint Construction and Shared Governance" alliance for the eastern gateway channel of Yangtze River shipping. Member units have since formed a comprehensive collaborative governance framework across intelligent supervision, credit management, waterway and hydrological support, and emergency response coordination. The development of the Yangtze River eastern gateway monitoring and early warning platform provides the earliest, fastest, and most direct risk alerts for the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It also launched the nation's first regional port entry guide, while efficiently operating the inspection service station for vessels entering the river from the sea, reducing uncontrolled vessel incidents on the approach by 55%.

These initiatives have continuously elevated the proactive defense capabilities of the Taicang section, steadily improved navigational capacity, and comprehensively strengthened practical emergency response capabilities. Despite an increase of 33% in vessel traffic and 52% in container throughput, the Yangtze Taicang section has achieved five consecutive years with zero fatalities and zero grade-level accidents, marking a qualitative leap in intrinsic safety standards. All member units will build on this agreement as a new starting point to jointly safeguard the eastern gateway of Yangtze River shipping, striving to establish a model demonstration of safety governance and service assurance at key waterway checkpoints, adding a stronger safety foundation for the high-quality development of Yangtze River shipping.