China has seven of the world’s 10 busiest container ports, spurred by booming trade and a state coffer that invests in public works
- Six of the world’s busiest container ports last year were in China, stretching from Qingdao in the north to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the south
- China’s government has spent 1 trillion yuan since 2012 to expand the country’s port facilities
On a hazy late March afternoon, Shanghai’s deputy transport commissioner announced that China’s largest commercial hub would slash handling fees and harbour dues for the second year in a row, easing the financial burden on trading companies caught by slumping commerce because of the US-China trade war.
Up to 300 million yuan worth of service feeds, loading and discharging charges and dues for Shanghai’s port and tugboats would be cut this year, adding to the 2 billion yuan (US$298 million) of reductions meted out in 2018.
“Shanghai Port is [making progress] in further optimising the business environment,” said Zhang Lin, vice director of the Shanghai Transportation Commission, during a press conference. “It is always the plan (for the authorities) to lower fees” for easing trade in the city, he said.
The move is welcome news for the shipping lines and consignors that helped catapult Shanghai to the world’s largest container port in a little over a decade. Six of the world’s 10 largest container ports last year were located along China’s coastline, stretching from the nation’s north to the south. Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest harbour, fell out of the top 10 in 2011 while Los Angeles dropped out in 2006.
