Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) has launched a pilot operation of the indices featuring the shipping trade in the Belt and Road countries on July 29.

The indices include the Belt and Road trade index and the Maritime Silk Road freight index.

The data for the Belt and Road trade index are provided by the National Statistics Bureau, General Administration of Customs and also collected by SSE.

The Maritime Silk Road freight index is originated from the indices released by SSE including China Containerized Freight Index, China Import Dry Bulk Freight Index and China Import Crude Oil Tanker Freight Index, covering the main shipping routes between China and the Belt and Road countries.

The indices, based on the freight volume and rate, aims to enhance the transparency and influence of the market, said Zhang Ye, the president of SSE.

Taking January 2015 as its base period, both indices are released on the last Monday of each month.