China’s ports handle record cargo, container volumes in 2025

China's ports handled more than 50 million metric tons of cargo and about 970,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers every day in 2025, highlighting the country's pivotal role in global shipping and trade, the Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday.

Port cargo throughput reached 18.3 billion metric tons in 2025, while container throughput totaled 354 million TEUs, both ranking first in the world, Vice-Minister of Transport Li Xinghu said at a news conference in Beijing. China also accounted for about one-third of global maritime cargo transport, while the fleet owned by Chinese shipping companies reached 490 million deadweight tons, the world's largest.

Chinese ports continue to dominate global rankings, with eight of the world's top 10 ports by cargo throughput and six of the top 10 container ports located in the country.

Li said the figures reflected the steady growth of China's water transport sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), as infrastructure, transport capacity and operational efficiency all improved.

The country's ports recorded an average of 98,200 vessel arrivals and departures each day in 2025, including 1,236 international voyages. Inland shipping also became larger and more efficient, with the average vessel size reaching 1,982 metric tons, up 37.4 percent from 2020. Rail-water intermodal transport handled 13.49 million TEUs last year, nearly doubling the 2020 level.

China has also accelerated the modernization of its water transport network. During the past five years, the number of berths capable of handling vessels of 10,000 tons or above increased to 3,061, while the country's high-grade inland waterways expanded to 18,500 kilometers. Major projects, including the Pinglu Canal and the Yangtze River's Wuhan-Anqing deep-water channel improvement project, have further strengthened the national waterway network.

The sector has also made significant progress in automation and green development. China now has 60 automated port terminals in operation, including 30 automated container terminals, accounting for 27 percent of the global total. Chinese shipowners operate more than 1,500 new-energy and clean-energy vessels, among the world's largest such fleets.

Li said the ministry will continue to modernize the country's water transport system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), with a focus on improving connectivity, advancing digitalization, enhancing safety and promoting green development to support high-quality economic growth.