China’s ports reached record scale in 2025, underscoring the continued expansion of the world’s largest logistics system. Total freight handled rose to 18.3 billion tonnes, up from 14 billion tonnes in 2019, while foreign trade freight reached 5.7 billion tonnes—around 31% of total port throughput—highlighting China’s sustained role at the centre of global trade flows.

Container activity also remained exceptionally strong, with total throughput rising to 350 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 6.8% year-on-year, supported by record volumes across China’s leading gateways. Shanghai handled 55.1 million TEUs, remaining the world’s busiest container port for the 16th consecutive year, while Ningbo-Zhoushan surpassed 39 million TEUs and maintained its position as the world’s largest port by cargo tonnage for the 17th year.

Shenzhen reached 30.1 million TEUs, and Guangzhou exceeded 28 million TEUs, confirming that China’s coastal port network continues to scale in both domestic and international freight handling.