Port activity to support China's foreign trade

Total container throughput of China's ports will continue to grow this year, providing support to the country's foreign trade and the operation of global supply chains, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Demand for logistic services in most container ports in China is showing a growth trend buoyed by trade demand, especially in Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Qingdao Port and Tianjin Port, according to the Outlook of Global Top 20 Container Ports released by the Chinese Academy of Science's Center for Forecasting Science.

Among the world's top 10 container ports, seven will come from China this year with Shanghai Port topping the list. The country will continue to play an important role in the stable development of the world's container ports and logistics, the report said.

It is expected Shanghai Port will have a container throughput of up to 48.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units this year, a year-on-year increase of 2.5 percent.

Although overall container volume of Shanghai Port will decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the port's average daily operation volume will remain above 100,000 TEUs.

Ningbo Zhoushan Port, which is expected to rank third, will see a rapid rebound in total container throughput likely up to 33.4 million TEUs this year, a year-on-year increase of 7.5 percent.

However, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict, the global economy is facing downward pressure, which may lead to a slower growth rate of total container throughput compared with last year.

"Ports are an important part of international logistics and play a vital role in global trade. China is among the world's largest manufacturing centers as well as the biggest country of trade in goods. The country's huge demand of trade buoys a large need for container ports," said Xie Gang, a professor at CEFS.