SINGAPORE, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A three-day brand promotion event for Chinese maritime products was launched here Wednesday at the Asia Pacific Maritime 2018 (APM).

The event was jointly organized by the Trade Development Bureau (TDB) of China's Ministry of Commerce and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME).

Jin Hong, deputy general director of the TDB, said at the opening ceremony of the event that the APM is the most important exhibition of its kind in the Asian-Pacific region.

By co-organizing the Chinese brand promotion at the APM, TDB expects to provide good opportunities for business exchanges and cooperation within the maritime sector, Jin said.

Zhong Manying, economic and commercial minister-counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to Singapore said the biennial APM event had attracted over 120 Chinese enterprises to participate this year.

Zhong told Singapore's Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health Lam Pin Min who attended the opening ceremony that the maritime sector would be the new growth engine of trade development between China and Singapore, as many Chinese maritime enterprises had found opportunities in Singapore, a global maritime hub.

Enterprises from both countries should join their hands and enhance cooperation in the interconnection of Maritime Silk Road infrastructure and the construction and upgrade of harbors and wharfs so that China and Singapore will play bigger roles in regional cooperation, Zhong added.

According to the event organizers, this year's APM is expected to attract 15,000 visitors and decision makers from Asia, 1,500 international products and services companies from over 60 countries and regions and over 50 industry influencers to buy, sell, network and learn in one single platform.