On January 5, COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU) signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Qian Weizhong, Chairperson of COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong), Zhu Changyu, Director and President; Chen Qiuming, Party Committee Secretary of SZTU, Liang Yongsheng, Vice President, and others attended the ceremony and witnessed the signing.

The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong) signing its first university-enterprise strategic cooperation agreement with SZTU at the start of the year signifies that technological innovation will be the strategic theme for the company during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

According to the agreement, both parties will leverage their respective strengths, focus on cutting-edge fields such as intelligent manufacturing, new energy, and artificial intelligence, and carry out comprehensive cooperation in areas including technological research and development, innovation platform development, and talent cultivation.

As the initial projects under this strategic cooperation, New Century Decal (Shenzhen) Limited and Jiangmen COSCO SHIPPING Aluminum Co., Ltd. signed letters of intent for R&D project cooperation with SZTU respectively.

Qian Weizhong stated that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong) will pursue a development vision of becoming a globally renowned digital, intelligent, and green shipping service provider. It will anchor its development in the two major tracks of green & low-carbon and digital intelligence, strategically focusing on three industrial sectors: intelligent ship services, intelligent manufacturing, and marine new energy, to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces. SZTU is dedicated to building a benchmark for applied universities in China, possessing solid R&D foundations and outstanding innovative achievements in fields like intelligent manufacturing and AI. It is committed to cultivating high-quality applied and skilled talents. This aligns closely with COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong)'s strategic direction of upgrading traditional industries and exploring the integration of technological innovation with shipping industry innovation. He expressed hope that this signing would further deepen university-enterprise cooperation and strengthen the integration of industry, academia, and research.

Chen Qiuming stated that SZTU is committed to creating a new research model that integrates basic research, technological breakthroughs, and engineering applications. This cooperation will help both parties jointly tackle industrial R&D challenges and cultivate innovative engineers capable of solving practical problems. SZTU will take this cooperation as an opportunity to further promote the precise alignment of the education chain and talent chain with the industrial chain and innovation chain, continuously supply high-quality talent for regional industrial upgrading and technological innovation, and inject strong momentum into high-quality economic and social development.

At the meeting, Yu Lei, Assistant to the President of COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong), introduced the company's key technological R&D directions for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. Hu Xuejuan, Party Branch Secretary of the SZTU Graduate School, introduced the university's leading disciplines. Chair Professor Zhu Chi and Associate Professor Shen Wenjing respectively presented the progress of preliminary collaborative projects in the field of intelligent manufacturing.

Attendees at the signing ceremony also included representatives from: the Office of Scientific Research and University-enterprise Cooperation, Graduate School, School of Artificial Intelligence, and Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing of Shenzhen Technology University; the Strategy Development Division and Human Resources Division of COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong); and New Century Decal (Shenzhen) and Jiangmen COSCO SHIPPING Aluminum.