Insight Focus
China’s ports surpassed 276 million TEUs in 2025. Shanghai exceeded 50 million TEUs, leveraging smart ecosystem strategies. Ningbo-Zhoushan hit 40 million TEUs, while Shenzhen and Beibu Gulf saw fastest growth, and Xiamen declined.
The container throughput of Chinese ports surpassed 276 million TEUs in the first 10 months of 2025, marking a robust year-over-year growth of 7.6%. This is a major milestone for China’s transportation and logistics sector, as the country’s ports recorded significant volume gains despite geopolitical challenges, including Trump-era tariffs.
Source: Ministry of Transport of China
Shanghai remains at the top, processing more than 43 million TEUs from January to October 2025, a 7.6% increase compared to last year. The port complex of Ningbo and Zhoushan followed closely, handling nearly 33 million TEUs with an 8.8% rise.
The largest percentage increases were observed at the ports of Shenzhen and Beibu Gulf, which handled 27.66 million and 7.42 million TEUs, with 14.9% and 14.3% growth, respectively.
Among the eight major ports mentioned in the table, Xiamen was the only one to record a decline in container volumes compared to the previous year. It moved 7.42 million TEUs, representing a year-on-year decrease of 4%. In October specifically, Xiamen suffered a double-digit dip of 10.4%, handling 950,000 TEUs.
Source: Ministry of Transport of China
Xiamen is an export-oriented port handling primarily electronics, machinery and textiles, and was likely disproportionately impacted by US tariffs. Xiamen is also located directly adjacent to Taiwan, meaning its activities are highly sensitive to any increased geopolitical activities in the area.
Record Figures for the Port of Shanghai
The Port of Shanghai deserves a special mention, as it surpassed 50 million TEUs for the second year in a row. The port reached its 50 millionth TEU on November 26 —26 days earlier than in 2024—and is on track to remain the world’s busiest container port for the 16th straight year.
Port officials attribute this success to a strategic shift from “scale-based expansion” to “ecosystem restructuring.”
The Port of Shanghai
“Venturing away from the traditional model of simply stacking hardware, we have adopted a system-based approach to build a broad, collaborative operational ecosystem,” said a port representative.
The representative added that the port has connected its automated terminals with upgrades in its older areas, making the whole operation more efficient at every step.
Outside the port itself, it has expanded its services into important inland hubs and worked to better connect port operations with local industry and the city. This has made cargo flows more reliable and improved how goods move through the logistics network.
Ningbo & Zhoushan Marks Major Breakthrough
The second-largest port complex of China has also achieved a record-breaking year, surpassing the 40 million TEU milestone for the first time in its history.
Source: Ministry of Transport of China
According to the port owner, Zhejiang Seaport Group, the Ningbo-Zhoushan gateway’s operations have grown from an annual 30 million TEUs in just four years. “The port started relatively late in container operations, but it has developed very rapidly,” highlighted Tao Chengbo, chairman of Zhejiang Seaport Group.
It is also noteworthy that Shanghai and Ningbo & Zhoushan ports are strengthening their collaboration amid ongoing external trade tensions. Recent reports show that cargo throughput between the two major Chinese hubs grew 18% year-on-year, reflecting an increasingly coordinated and cooperative approach between these two port giants.
Port of Ningbo & Zhoushan
