On July 11, the launch ceremony of the 2025 China Maritime Day Shanghai-themed event and the North Bund High-Quality Development Conference on Shipping were held in Shanghai. The “Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report (2025)” (referred to as the “Report”) released at the event revealed that Shanghai has ranked third among international shipping centers for six consecutive years.
The Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index is jointly compiled by Xinhua News Agency’s China Economic Information Service and the Baltic Exchange. Since its first release in 2014, it has become one of the most authoritative and influential evaluation systems in the global shipping industry. The index comprehensively assesses 43 shipping centers worldwide, covering three major dimensions—port conditions, shipping services, and overall environment—along with 16 secondary indicators, providing valuable insights for policymakers, businesses, researchers, and other stakeholders in the industry chain.
The index results show that the top 20 global shipping centers in 2025 are Singapore, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Rotterdam, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Athens-Piraeus, Hamburg, New York-New Jersey, Houston, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tokyo, Busan, Antwerp-Bruges, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Los Angeles, and Vancouver.
**Top 10 Global Shipping Centers (2014-2025)**
In 2024, the Port of Shanghai became the world’s first port to exceed 50 million TEUs in container throughput, maintaining its position as the busiest container port globally for 15 consecutive years, solidifying its status as a world-class shipping hub. The index results indicate that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the score gap between Shanghai and the two “global leaders,” Singapore and London, has generally narrowed. Specifically, the difference between Shanghai and London decreased from 0.38 points in 2021 to just 0.01 points in 2025, leaving Shanghai on the verge of surpassing this long-established shipping center.
**Top Three Scores During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period**
“Shanghai’s development benefits from its robust shipping industry ecosystem, first-class port infrastructure, leading maritime legal and financial services, and strong adaptability,” the Report noted. Looking ahead, Shanghai faces both opportunities and challenges. This major Eastern port will continue to drive innovation and contribute further to China’s goal of becoming a “shipping powerhouse.”
