China’s seaports handled a record 161.1 million TEUs in the first half of 2026, marking a 5.8% increase year on year and reflecting continued strength in the country’s container trade. The growth was supported by strong exports of high-tech and manufactured goods and greater diversification of trade flows.
Shanghai remained the world’s busiest container port, processing 28.74 million TEUs, up 6.2%. Ningbo-Zhoushan ranked second with 22.9 million TEUs, an 8.8% increase, overtaking Singapore in the global ranking.
Other major Chinese gateways also recorded strong growth. Shenzhen handled 18.56 million TEUs, up 7.7%, while Qingdao processed 17.56 million TEUs, an increase of 7.2%. Six of the world’s top 10 container ports were located in China during the first half of the year.
The performance comes as China’s overall port container throughput reached about 180 million TEUs in H1, according to official transport data, up 5.9% year on year. Total port cargo throughput also rose 2% to 9.07 billion tonnes.
The record volumes underline China’s continued dominance of global container trade and the sustained capacity of its major ports to handle rising international cargo flows.