Data recently released by the Ministry of Transport shows that from January to October this year, China’s port cargo and container throughput increased by 4.3% and 6.4% year-on-year respectively, demonstrating the strong vitality of Chinese ports.
Rapid Growth in Port Throughput
On December 2, the annual container throughput of Ningbo Zhoushan Port exceeded 40 million TEUs for the first time, successfully achieving its fourth “ten-million TEU-level” leap. Previously, the port’s annual container throughput had already crossed three “ten-million TEU-level” milestones: it took 7 years to go from 10 million TEUs to 20 million TEUs, and 6 years from 20 million to 30 million TEUs. This latest leap from 30 million to 40 million TEUs took only 4 years.
“The core competitiveness of a port lies not only in its scale but also in its ability to cope with uncertainty,” said Zhen Hong, Director of the Academic Committee of the Shanghai International Shipping Institute, in an interview with this newspaper. Against the backdrop of the current global supply chain restructuring, the stable operation of Ningbo Zhoushan Port has become a crucial support for ensuring the smooth flow of international trade.
As the world’s largest port by cargo throughput, Ningbo Zhoushan Port reaching a new level in container throughput is a microcosm of the high-quality development of China’s port economy.
Looking at scale—Zhen Hong explained that the cargo throughput of China’s major ports has been continuously climbing in recent years. Last year, China accounted for 8 of the world’s top 10 ports by cargo throughput and 6 of the top 10 by container throughput. Data recently released by the Ministry of Transport shows that from January to October this year, the national port cargo throughput reached 15.13 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, with foreign trade throughput growing by 3.7%. National port container throughput reached 290 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%.
Looking at structure—Zhen Hong said, “With the adjustment of China’s industrial structure, the structure of goods trade is continuously being optimized. In the port cargo structure, the proportion of containerized cargo is steadily increasing. For example, Shanghai Port’s container throughput exceeded 50 million TEUs last year, ranking first globally for many years. Ningbo Zhoushan Port not only ranks first in the world in cargo throughput but is also closing in on Singapore Port, which ranks second globally in container throughput.”
More Balanced Development of Port Economy
From east to west, from seaports to inland river ports, China’s port economy is developing more evenly. Ministry of Transport data shows that from January to October this year, the cargo throughput of national coastal ports reached 9.64 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Meanwhile, the cargo throughput of national inland river ports reached 5.49 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.
In the eastern coastal region, Shanghai, as an important international shipping center, has gathered numerous shipyards, shipowners, and related financial institutions, with the development level of its port economy and shipping industry continuously reaching new heights.
Not long ago, China Classification Society announced the establishment of three major international functions—international ship inspection, technical standard innovation, and international exchange and cooperation—in Shanghai’s Hongkou District, further strengthening Shanghai’s core role in the global shipping system. As a key functional area for the Shanghai International Shipping Center, Hongkou has now formed a high-end shipping service ecosystem, gathering leading enterprises such as COSCO Shipping and Shanghai International Port Group, introducing international organizations like the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Shanghai Representative Office, and promoting the successful launch of the country’s first shipping index futures.
Turning our gaze to the west—from ports to the hinterland, the rail-sea intermodal transport of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor has become smoother, helping more products from the western inland regions cross mountains and seas to reach the world.
Data released at the recent 2025 New Land-Sea Corridor Shipping Conference shows that since the first rail-sea intermodal train of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor began operation in 2017, the cumulative container volume transported via rail-sea intermodal has exceeded 2.55 million TEUs. In September this year, the annual shipment volume of these trains exceeded 1 million TEUs for the first time, a 110-fold increase compared to the initial period in 2017. The transport network has expanded to 581 ports in 127 countries and regions. The types of goods cover over 1,300 products across dozens of major categories, including electronic products, vehicles and parts, machinery, and food.
Smarter, Greener, More Open
Chinese ports are becoming smarter, greener, and more open.
Smarter—At the Meishan Port Area of Ningbo Zhoushan Port, unmanned container trucks rely on “Beidou + AI navigation,” reducing deviation rates by 10% and increasing gate passage efficiency by 7%. The intelligent stowage system handles the stowage planning for 3,000 containers per ship, reducing gantry crane movement time by over a thousand minutes.
Greener—In the Bohai Bay, four distributed wind turbines at the Weifang Port Area of Shandong Ports spin with the wind. The first-phase distributed wind power project at the Lanshan Port Area of Rizhao Port successfully connected its turbines to the grid for power generation. Qingdao Port’s automated terminal operates efficiently powered by clean energy. The “Sunflower” photovoltaic system at Yantai Port’s ro-ro passenger terminal has become a seaside attraction… Recently, Shandong Ports’ annual green electricity generation exceeded 100 million kWh, saving approximately 12,000 tons of standard coal and reducing CO2 emissions by about 75,000 tons.
More Open—As Hainan Free Trade Port enters the countdown to launching island-wide customs closure operations, a series of institutional innovations and policy advantages such as “zero tariffs,” bonded fuel bunkering, and port clearance facilitation are making the free trade port’s shipping hub increasingly busy. In the first three quarters of this year, Hainan’s Yangpu Port completed a container throughput of 2.145 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 48.4%. Since the beginning of this year, Yangpu Port has added 14 domestic and international shipping routes, bringing its total container routes to 64, and has established strategic cooperative relationships with several internationally renowned ports.
“Waterway transport accounts for over 90% of China’s foreign trade. Chinese ports will continue to play a significant role in reducing overall social logistics costs and promoting high-quality economic development,” said Zhen Hong. In the future, Chinese ports, especially container ports, will continue to develop with high quality towards the directions of intelligentization, greening, and integration.
