## 5 Conclusions  
This paper has provided a comprehensive review of the current status, challenges, and future prospects of ocean-going weather routing services in China, drawing significantly on the operational perspective of the National Meteorological Centre. While China has made substantial progress, particularly through the re-establishment and technological upgrading of the NMC's services since 2017, significant gaps remain compared to leading international providers.  
Key challenges identified include persistent deficiencies in marine meteorological observation coverage, particularly in remote oceanic regions and along key shipping routes; limitations in the accuracy and resolution of domestic numerical weather prediction models, especially coupled systems; difficulties in accurately predicting vessel speed loss under varying conditions; constraints imposed by current maritime satellite communication bandwidth and costs; and the need for more sophisticated navigation risk identification capabilities.  
To address these challenges and align with global trends towards digitalization, decarbonization, and automation, several future directions are proposed. These include strategically enhancing the national marine observation network through integrated platforms and international cooperation; leveraging large-scale AI models for improved forecasting, route optimization, and risk assessment; strengthening autonomous global satellite communication capabilities via domestic constellations like BeiDou; developing intelligent weather routing technologies that actively support the shipping industry's low-carbon transition; expanding specialized routing services for the increasingly important Arctic routes; and ensuring deep integration of weather routing with the emerging generation of intelligent and autonomous ships, supported by standards like IHO S-100 [58].  
The primary contribution of this work lies in its systematic analysis focused specifically on the Chinese context, offering insights based on direct operational experience. By identifying specific weaknesses and outlining targeted development pathways, this paper serves as a valuable reference for stakeholders involved in advancing China's maritime meteorological services and enhancing the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of its vast shipping fleet. Future work could involve quantitative assessments of the impact of specific technological improvements (e.g., AI-based forecasting) or detailed case studies evaluating the performance of Chinese routing services on specific routes.  
Conceptualization, H.Z., G.N. and T.L.; methodology, H.Z. and H.W.; software, H.Z.; validation, H.Z., C.Q. and W.Z.; formal analysis, H.Z. and H.W.; investigation, C.Q. and X.M.; resources, C.Q. and T.L.; data curation, H.Z.; writing--original draft preparation, H.Z. and W.Z.; writing--review and editing, H.Z., G.N., X.M. and T.L.; visualization, H.Z.; supervision, G.N. and T.L.; project administration, T.L.; funding acquisition, T.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Project of China (Grant No. 2023 YFC3107905); the National Key Research and Development Project of China (Grant No. 2019 YFC1510105); the Special Project of Soft Science Research of the China MeteorologicalAdministration (Grant No. 2024 ZXXM02); the Key Innovation Team of the China Meteorological Administration--Weather Routing Team; the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52201401) and the Chenguang Program of Shanghai Education Development Foundation and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. 24 CGA52).  
**Institutional Review Board Statement**: Not applicable.  
**Informed Consent Statement**: Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement**: Data are contained within the article.  
**Conflicts of Interest**: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.