Record container volumes drive ambitious expansions at Shanghai and Ningbo ports as Beijing bets on smart hubs and regional integration to weather global volatility.<\/b>
\nEven as global trade weathered extreme volatility in 2025, China is pressing ahead with port expansions, building bigger and more strategically positioned hubs to secure its trade future.
In the first 11 months of 2025, China\u2019s foreign trade container throughput jumped 9.5 per cent, year on year, to 320 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU), contributing to a record US$1.19 trillion trade surplus for the full year, according to official data.
Major ports helped drive the records. Shanghai, for instance, handled more than 50 million TEU in container throughput from January to November, surpassing 2024\u2019s full-year total and putting it on track to set a new annual record, according to the Shanghai International Port Group.
And by early December, the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province eclipsed 40 million TEU in container throughput, making it only the third port globally \u2013 after Shanghai and Singapore \u2013 to reach that milestone in a full year, according to customs authorities in Ningbo.
Zhen Hong, a professor at Shanghai Maritime University, said China\u2019s port capacity is expected to continue growing over the next five years, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. He emphasised that \u201ctransport comes first\u201d, calling \u201cforward-looking port infrastructure\u201d essential in underpinning hinterland development and trade expansion.
Full-year exports for 2025 climbed 5.5 per cent from a year earlier to US$3.77 trillion, remaining a pillar of the world\u2019s second-largest economy, according to customs data released on Wednesday. This occurred despite China\u2019s pursuit of a new growth model centred on consumption and domestic demand, shifting from a more traditional reliance on investment and trade.<\/p>\n