In 1961 China established a state-run maritime shipping company and subsequently signed shipping agreements with many countries, laying the foundation for developing the country's ocean transport. That organization developed into the present-day China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (

COSCO China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

). The Chinese government also invested heavily in water transport infrastructure, constructing new ports and rebuilding and enlarging older facilities. A major effort has also been made to increase

mechanization Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows: In some fields, mechanization includes the ...

and

containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...

at major international ports. China's shipping industry and container transportation have reached international standards both in handling efficiency and building networks. The governmental responsibility of the shipping industry is under the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. The number of container units handled by Chinese ports in 2011 reached more than 150 million. The country also manufactures 90% of the world's containers. The throughput of cargo and containers at China's ports has been the largest in the world for the past five years, with an annual growth rate of 35%.

History

The first overseas container reached China in September 1973 at

Tianjin Port The Port of Tianjin (''Tianjin Gang'', ), formerly known as the Port of Tanggu, is the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing. The name "Tianjin Xingang" (), which strictly speaking refers only to the main seaport ...

, which later set up the country's first container berth in 1980. The 1990s saw rapid growth in the container transportation industry, and in 2002 China overtook the United States to become the world's top handler of containers. In 2006, the country handled 5.6 billion tons of cargo and 93 million TEUs (20-foot container equivalent units). Twelve ports recorded cargo throughput of more than 100 million tons, with the

Port of Shanghai The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

handling 530 million tons, making it the world's busiest port. Water transportation accounts for more than 90 percent of

foreign trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

delivery, including 95 percent of imported crude oil and 99 percent of imported

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

. Containers have further connected China's middle and western regions to the global market, under a ports distribution strategy combining coastal areas and inner rivers.

Geography

China's 8,700-mile- (14,000-km-) long

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

is indented by 100 large and small bays and has 20 deepwater harbours, most of which are ice-free throughout the year. Coastal shipping is divided into two principal navigation zones, the northern and southern marine districts. The northern district extends north from

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

to the North Korean border, with

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

as its administrative centre. The southern district extends south from Xiamen to the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

ese border, with

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

as the administrative center. Most of the ocean-going routes begin from the ports of

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on ...

Qinghuangdao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 nationa ...

, Xingang, Qingdao,

, Huangpu,

Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,83 ...

, or

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Shanghai, the leading port of China from the early 19th century, was eclipsed by Hong Kong when the latter was reincorporated into the country in 1997.

Yangtze River Hu-Yu Route

On June 23, 2007, renovations on the section of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

between

Luzhou Luzhou (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Luzhou dialect: ), formerly transliterated as Lu-chou or Luchow, is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, China. The city, named Jiangyang until the Southern and Northern Dyn ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...

, also known as the Hu-Yu Sea Route, have been completed. These renovations mean that ships over a thousand tons can now arrive in Luzhou. Before the renovations, the Hu-Yu Sea Route was unable to suitably support the shipping needs of the Sichuan economy. In October 2005, renovations started with a total investment of 120 million yuan (US$15.7 million). After two years of work, the Hu-Yu Route channel has been significantly enlarged to a depth of 2.7 meters and a width of 50 meters. The result is that vessels as large as 3000 tons can now navigate the Hu-Yu Sea Route.

Laws and regulations

Greek forays

Greek firms have managed to capture the immense expansion of South East Asia and particularly Europe. Dry bulk shipping firms dealing in iron and coal have benefited from the development.

Ports and canals

List of ports in China China has 34 major ports and more than 2000 minor ports. The former are mostly sea ports (except for ports such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Jiujiang along the Yangtze and Guangzhou in the Pearl river delta) opening up to the Yellow sea (Bo Hai), Tai ...

Grand Canal (China) The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...

List of busiest container ports This article lists the world's busiest container ports (ports with container terminals that specialize in handling goods transported in intermodal shipping containers), by total number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) transported throug ...

Lists of canals This article is a collection of lists of natural (rivers, estuaries, and straits) and artificial (reservoirs, canals and locks) waterways. Waterways lists Natural waterways * List of estuaries in England * List of straits in the United ...

Companies

* China COSCO Shipping ** China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) ***

COSCO Shipping Holdings China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, abbreviated as COSCO Shipping, is a Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai. The group is focused on marine transportation services. COSCO Shipping was established in J ...

*** COSCO Shipping Ports *** COSCO Shipping International *** China International Marine Containers ** China Shipping Group ***

China Shipping Container Lines COSCO Shipping Development Co., Ltd., stylized as COSCO SHIPPING Development is a financial services company based in Shanghai, China. It was known as China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and was among the world's largest container liner co ...

***

China Shipping Development COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co., Ltd., stylized as COSCO SHIPPING Energy, is a Chinese oil tanker shipping company with its headquarters in Hongkou District, Shanghai. The company transports crude oil, LNG, and LPG. It is a subsidiar ...

China Merchants China Merchants Group Limited () is an international state-owned corporation (SOE) of the People's Republic of China. The company is operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Ministry of ...

** China Merchants Holdings (International) **

China Merchants Energy Shipping China Merchants Energy Shipping Company Limited (), parented by China Merchants Group, is engaged in shipping industry, including tanker transportation, bulk cargo vessel transportation. Other businesses include training for sailors and sal ...

Sinotrans Sinotrans Limited (commonly referred to as Sinotrans) is one of the largest logistics companies in China. The business areas of the company include storage and terminal services and trucking and marine transportation. Operations Sinotrans operat ...

(

Sinotrans Shipping Sinotrans Shipping Ltd. (Former stock code: ) is one of the largest shipping companies in China and a listed subsidiary of China Merchants Group headquartered in Hong Kong. It is engaged in vessel time and voyage chartering through its Dry Bul ...

) * The China Navigation Company * Orient Overseas Container Line * Nan Fung Group * Parakou Shipping

References

*Asian Times Onlin
Chinese shipping aims for global leadership

''Forbes'' Special Report.

External links

Chinese shipping
Official website of the Ministry of Transport
Chinese shipping industry
information
Chinese shipping news
information/news