- Container volumes jump nearly 20% in early 2026, outpacing global peers despite geopolitical strains.
- integrated mega-port pushes beyond cargo handling toward pricing power in strategic commodities.
Zhejiang’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port posted sharply higher cargo and container volumes at the start of 2026, underscoring the resilience of China’s trade flows even as geopolitical tensions and tariff disputes continue to reshape global shipping routes.
The world’s busiest cargo port handled 7.98 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in January and February, up 19.8% from a year earlier, while total cargo throughput rose 7.3% to 245 million tons, according to official data cited by state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The growth far exceeded the average expansion rate of China’s major ports and pushed the hub’s container throughput ahead of Singapore’s 680,000 TEUs during the period, second only to Shanghai’s 9.41 million TEUs.
The surge highlights how the 2015 merger of Ningbo and Zhoushan ports — once close competitors sharing the same waterways — has evolved into a complementary logistics powerhouse over the past decade.
Ningbo’s terminals now anchor container shipping and modern logistics, while Zhoushan leverages deep-water advantages to specialize in bulk commodities such as crude oil and iron ore.
Officials say the port is increasingly positioning itself as more than a cargo gateway. With more than 300 shipping routes linking over 700 ports across 200 countries and regions, Ningbo-Zhoushan is expanding into integrated “storage, transportation, processing and trade” services aimed at strengthening China’s influence over pricing and distribution of strategic resources.
The strategy aligns with a speech by Zhejiang’s Party Secretary Wang Hao about accelerating the development of a modern transportation and logistics network on April 1.
“We need to develop more systematic policy tools and implementation pathways to stabilize supply and industrial chains, closely monitor trends in global transportation markets, and expand international shipping routes,” Wang said.
