Chang Dechuan, deputy to the National People's Congress and President of the Qingdao Port (Group) Co., Ltd.

China's Qingdao Port (Group) will be making significant changes to the way it does business in the next five years in an aim at creating a new generation of environmentally friendly ports, said Chang Dechuan, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and President of the Qingdao Port (Group) Co., Ltd.

As the second largest foreign trade port in China, the Qingdao Port is one of the country's largest importers of iron ore and crude oil. Its total handling capacity hit 1.45 billion tons, with an average annually handling capacity growing at 13.5 percent. The ports' total assets grew from 13.9 billion yuan (about $1.73 billion) in 2005 to 27 billion yuan (about $3.9 billion) in 2010.

On January 4 this year, China's State Council approved a development plan for the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone as part of the country's new economic development plan. It is the first development plan approved by the state in the first year of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), and is one of the first initiatives to specifically tackle ocean economy.

According to the plan, the peninsula will optimize the structure of its ports, integrate its resources and accelerate the construction of public infrastructure facilities. The aim is to build ports in Shandong into a complex export hub in northeast Asia. The project will center around the Qingdao Port and will be supported by the Yantai and Rizhao ports, which are also located on the peninsula.

The approval of the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone will greatly aid in the development of east China's Shandong Province, Chang said in Beijing on March 2, three days before the Fourth session of the 11th NPC, the country's top legislature, begins.

The Qingdao Port will not only increase its shipping capacity, but will also improve its infrastructure and other areas to become a world-class information and logistics hub, said Chang.

The shipping industry consumes large amounts of resources every year, and creates a great deal of pollution. Worse still, the resources it consumes and the areas of coastal land that it occupies are both non-renewable. "To maintain long-term sustainable development, we have no choice but to build ports that are environmentally friendly," said Chang.

Chang pointed to the success of the Qingdao Port as a model to which other port authorities can aspire. Although the Qingdao Port has doubled its capacity over the last five years, it has also reduced its energy consumption by over 20 percent over the same period of time.

"Companies can receive great benefits by conserving energy and reducing emissions," said Chang.

The Qingdao Port will continue reduce its energy consumption by three to five percent per year for the next 10 years, Chang added.