Chinese ports handled more containers and relaxed Covid rules

270 MILLION TEU

The Chinese seaports handled more than 270 million teu of containers from January to November last year, a growth of 4.2% compared to the same period in 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Transport has announced.

The total volume of goods from the Chinese ports, ie including bulk and other types of goods, experienced a more modest increase in percentage terms of 0.7% in the eleven-month period, to over 14 billion tonnes. This increase was solely due to domestic transport: domestic trade in China grew by more than 2%, while foreign trade contracted by 2%.

From January 8, maritime trade with China will become easier, because various corona rules will be abolished on that day. For example, foreign travelers, including crew members of ships, can re-enter China from that day without having to be quarantined.

A ‘closed loop’ system in which dock workers, ship crews and other groups of people in the ports were kept strictly separated from each other in different shifts will also be abolished. The relaxations follow the jettisoning of the ‘zero-Covid’ policy by the Chinese authorities.