Wenyi Zhang
Research expert covering Greater China
Shipping ports in China - statistics & facts
Since China began to reform and open-up their economy over the last three decades, the nation’s ports have expanded substantially and served as key nodes in the global transportation network. Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), announced in 2013, to boost China’s international investment and trade cooperation, ports have become strategic hubs for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (or One Road). Significant funds have been invested in transport and logistics sectors, such as advancing port infrastructures, strengthening cooperation between ports, increasing shipping routes and maritime logistics, as well as providing access to intermodal water and land transport corridors. Correspondingly, China's ports and shipping industry have increased their capacity, operating performance, and competitiveness. In 2021, the cargo throughput of China’s seaports has grown to nearly 10 billion metric tons, and that of inland river ports has increased to 5.6 billion metric tons. In addition, China has the world’s largest container port system, with seven of the world's ten busiest container shipping ports located along China's coastline—namely the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. During the year 2021, the total container throughput in China’s coastal ports amounted to 249 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), and another 33 million TEUs of containers were handled in the inland river ports.
Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the largest seaport in China in terms of annual cargo throughput, with a capacity of more than 1.2 billion metric tons in 2021. About 46 percent of them were foreign trade cargoes, such as seaborne crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and iron ore. Its main operator, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. earned an operating revenue of about 23.1 billion yuan (approx. 3.4 billion U.S. dollars) during that year. Business in liquid bulk and break bulk terminals has declined in recent months, whereas growth continues to be shown in container freight and dry bulk terminals, as indicated by the increasing Ningbo Port Climate Index.
Yangtze River Delta – the world’s busiest port cluster
China's ports are laid out in five clusters: the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Bohai Bay, the Southeast Coastal Port, and the Southwest Coastal Port. Among them, the Yangtze River Delta is the largest and busiest port cluster in China. Centered by the coastal ports of Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, and Lianyungang, it connects the Wenzhou seaport and several river ports located downstream of the Yangtze River, such as Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Nantong, and Suzhou. As the world’s largest container port, Shanghai Port had a container throughput of 47 million TEUs in 2021. Its operator—Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd., generated about 36.2 billion yuan (around 5.2 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue that year, with container handling and ancillary services accounting for about 41 percent.Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the largest seaport in China in terms of annual cargo throughput, with a capacity of more than 1.2 billion metric tons in 2021. About 46 percent of them were foreign trade cargoes, such as seaborne crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and iron ore. Its main operator, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. earned an operating revenue of about 23.1 billion yuan (approx. 3.4 billion U.S. dollars) during that year. Business in liquid bulk and break bulk terminals has declined in recent months, whereas growth continues to be shown in container freight and dry bulk terminals, as indicated by the increasing Ningbo Port Climate Index.
