Source: Global Times
Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" article on November 10, original title: China Shipping - From monopoly on containers to key role in global supply chain In 2020, goods worth US$2.5 trillion passed through Maritime imports and exports to China are higher than air, rail and road transportation combined. In international trade , more than 85% of goods are also transported by sea.
Tianjin Port, China. Source: Visual China
According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development , in terms of maritime trade freight capacity, China ranked third in the world in terms of number of ships and total dead tonnage in 2020, second only to Greece and Japan. China has more than 400 ports located along inland rivers and coastlines. China accounts for four of the world's top five container ports and seven of the top ten ports.
Does the global shipping industry need Chinese-made ships and containers? China is the world's leading shipbuilding country. However, most of the ships manufactured have low added value and low technical content compared with the other two top shipbuilding countries, namely South Korea and Japan. In the grand plan of "Made in China", the shipbuilding industry is identified as one of the 10 priority areas. Thanks to government support, low labor costs and huge local demand, nearly all of the world's shipping containers are manufactured in China. According to data from British maritime consulting company Drewry, China produces more than 96% of the world's dry cargo containers and 100% of temperature-controlled containers.
What impact will the epidemic have on China’s shipping industry? China's manufacturing industry has quickly recovered from the impact of the epidemic, while competitors in Southeast Asia are still facing a surge in cases, making China almost the best choice for global importers and consumers to get the products they want. Cargo and container throughput at China's major ports have surged this year amid strong export demand. In the first nine months, Chinese ports handled 3.5 billion tons of foreign trade goods, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%.
Unbalanced global trade disrupts China's container supply. Container shortages in China have resulted from fewer exports from North America and Europe and empty containers piling up at ports, delaying returns to Asia. To this end, relevant Chinese authorities have coordinated with domestic container manufacturers to increase production. (Translated by Qiao Heng)
