In the first half of the year, the import and export of the Yangtze River Delta region increased by 5.4%
According to Shanghai Customs, in the first half of this year, the Yangtze River Delta region achieved an import and export volume of 8.16 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, accounting for 37.4% of the total national import and export value during the same period, an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to last year, demonstrating the strong resilience and vitality of the Yangtze River Delta's foreign trade.
In order to promote the smooth circulation of regional logistics chains, Shanghai Customs has taken the lead in promoting the "linkage unloading" model in the field of maritime transportation to Nantong Tonghai Port and Qidong Lvsi Port in Jiangsu Province, achieving "direct water connection, multi port interaction, inland river undertaking, and Yangshan loading and unloading", and continuously expanding the outbound channels for enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta. At present, the "linkage unloading" mode has covered 14 ports in the Yangtze River Delta, and the hub and radiation functions of Shanghai Port have been further expanded.
Since the beginning of this year, Shanghai Customs has taken the lead in formulating the "Yangtze River Delta Customs Cross Border Clearance Business Contact and Cooperation Measures". The customs of Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang in the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone have strengthened customs clearance cooperation, and for the first time, launched a pilot program for cultivating and certifying "Certified Operators" (AEOs) across customs zones.
Hebei Port Group opens South China West Coast fast shipping route
Recently, the "Renjian 8" vessel set sail from the first phase of the Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port, sounding its horn, marking the official opening of Hebei Port Group's South China West Coast Express route. This is also the first point-to-point direct express line to Los Angeles Port in the United States opened in Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port. After the opening of the route, it only takes 14 days to travel from Nansha Port in Guangzhou to Los Angeles Port in the United States, which is one week shorter than the traditional route transportation time. Five ships will be deployed on the route, with weekly (Wednesday) operations.
At present, the Hebei Port Group's US West Express route has achieved "three line linkage" between North China (Huanghua Port), East China (Shanghai Port), and South China (Nansha Port in Guangzhou), forming a complementary and efficient maritime transportation channel that will better serve major national strategies such as the coordinated development of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area.
Lianyungang Port and Xuzhou Port achieve 'coordinated unloading'
On July 21st, the "Xuzhou Lianyungang" container sea water intermodal foreign trade CCA (full bill of lading) business successfully made its maiden voyage, and at the same time, the "linkage unloading" mode between Lianyungang Port and Xuzhou Port was officially launched, achieving an important breakthrough in the construction and mode innovation of the Xuzhou Lianyungang logistics channel. On that day, the inland public barge "Suhaitong 1677" loaded with COSCO Shipping's foreign trade containers departed from Hongkang Port in Xuzhou Port and successfully arrived at Xinyuntai Port in Lianyungang Port. The batch of goods has completed customs clearance procedures in Xuzhou and will seamlessly connect with the main sea vessels of Lianyungang Port. They will be directly loaded upon arrival and shipped to Southeast Asia.
Seven provinces, regions, and corps signed a regional cooperation agreement for ship inspection
On July 18th, at the 2025 Ship Inspection Regional Cooperation Work Conference of Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration, representatives of ship inspection agencies from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps jointly signed the "Framework Agreement on the Cooperation Work Mechanism for Ship Inspection Regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps". According to the Cooperation Framework Agreement, the Western Ship Inspection Cooperation and Exchange Center will be officially launched and operated with the support of China Power Construction (Xi'an) Port and Shipping Technology Co., Ltd. The center will become a "hub" for regional ship inspection business cooperation, a "cradle" for talent cultivation, and a "think tank" for safety technology support, laying a solid foundation for hard connection with the Eastern Ship Inspection Exchange and Cooperation Center.
Changsha Customs issues ten measures to support the high-quality development of Huaihua International Land Port
On July 22, Changsha Customs released the "Ten Measures to Promote the High Quality Development of Huaihua International Land Port", promoting the accelerated construction of the ASEAN Freight Hub in Huaihua, Hunan Province from the aspects of mechanism coordination, platform upgrading, customs clearance convenience, and industrial agglomeration. The launch of the "Ten Measures" this time is an upgrade after Changsha Customs issued 18 measures to support Huaihua International Land Port in 2022. It will establish and improve the linkage and cooperation mechanism, promote seamless integration of road, railway, water transport, and air multimodal transport, ensure efficient docking of Huaihua China Laos, China Vietnam, and rail sea intermodal trains along the Western Land Sea New Corridor and cities in Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, and lay the institutional foundation for building an ASEAN freight hub.
Huaihua is an important node on the eastern route of the Western Land Sea New Corridor, relying on international land ports to regularly operate 7 international logistics channels including China Vietnam and China Laos, with a transportation network covering 158 ports and stations in 52 countries and regions worldwide. From January to June this year, Huaihua International Land Port shipped a total of 601 trains, totaling 30068 TEUs with a value of approximately 3.9 billion yuan. At present, Huaihua has achieved a 30 hour cross-border goods delivery by river and sea, with goods sent to Laos and Vietnam arriving in two days, and Southeast Asian fruits arriving within three days.
In the first half of the year, Qingdao's sea rail intermodal transportation volume completed 1.503 million TEUs
According to the Qingdao Municipal Transportation Bureau, in the first half of this year, Qingdao Port added three inland ports, Anhui (Fuyang), Heze (Shatuji), and Henan (Lankao), with a total of 54 ports; The total number of sea rail intermodal train routes has reached 86, with a total sea rail intermodal volume of 1.503 million TEUs completed, a year-on-year increase of 15.1%, continuing to maintain the top position among coastal ports in China.
Yueyang Iron and Steel Centralized Transport Coal Reserve Base Coal Bunker put into operation
Recently, the first phase of the Hunan Yueyang Iron and Steel Concentrated Coal Reserve Project Reserve Base has reached an important milestone: the heavy load test of the No. 2 strip storage coal transportation system has been successfully completed. This marks that the first phase of the base project has officially acquired coal storage and transportation capabilities. The total investment of the reserve base project is about 2.924 billion yuan, with the planned construction of 5 strip warehouses, a static coal reserve capacity of 2 million tons, and an annual turnover of 22 million tons. Among them, the first phase of the project has an investment of 1.572 billion yuan, with the construction of two new strip warehouses and a static reserve capacity of 800000 tons.
The Yueyang Iron and Steel Transport Coal Reserve Project is a key construction project in Hunan Province and a national coal strategic reserve project. It consists of three parts: terminal engineering, reserve base engineering, and railway dedicated line engineering.
Xiamen releases special standards for multimodal transport
Recently, the Xiamen Free Trade Zone Management Committee, Xiamen Port Office, and other institutions jointly drafted the Xiamen local standard "Multimodal Transport Single Order Service Specification for Container Sea Rail Transport" (DB3502/T 193-2025), which was officially released. This standard fills the gap in the local standard of "one order system" in Xiamen, promotes the replication and promotion of this business model, strengthens the mutual learning and interoperability of service standards among all parties in the business field, and lays the foundation for enhancing the capacity of sea rail intermodal transportation services.
As of June 2025, Xiamen has accumulated over 52000 TEUs of "one order system" business. The relevant person in charge of the Xiamen Free Trade Zone Management Committee stated that the committee will continue to deepen the pilot reform of the "one order system" for multimodal transport, further build an international logistics channel that seamlessly connects the "sea silk" and "land silk", and contribute to Xiamen's high-level opening up.
The China Europe freight train (Fuzhou) has been in operation for three years, with an export value of over 1 billion yuan
On July 22, China Railway Nanchang Group Co., Ltd. announced that since its launch on July 15, 2022, a total of over 1 billion yuan (RMB) worth of goods have been exported on the China Europe freight train (Fuzhou). On that day, a train carrying 45 containers with a value of nearly 20 million yuan departed from Jiangyin Port Station in Fuzhou and will travel to Eastern Europe via Manzhouli.
According to Rongcheng Customs, a subsidiary of Fuzhou Customs, since its launch, the China Europe freight train (Fuzhou) has operated 1 to 2 times a month, all at full capacity, further opening up the land cross-border transportation channel connecting Fuzhou Port to Europe and Asia. Previously, Southeast Asian goods to Europe had to go through three customs declarations: sea freight, transshipment, and railway, which took 45 days. Nowadays, with the help of multimodal electronic bills of lading, it is possible to complete the full transportation declaration of sea, railway, and road in Fuzhou, reducing the time to 20 days and reducing costs by 60%.
The scale of civil aviation transportation in China reached a new high in the first half of this year
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, in the first half of this year, the entire civil aviation industry completed a total transportation turnover of 78.35 billion ton kilometers, a passenger transportation volume of 370 million people, and a cargo and mail transportation volume of 4.784 million tons, an increase of 11.4%, 6%, and 14.6% respectively year-on-year, and the transportation scale reached a new high.
On July 22nd, the Civil Aviation Administration of China held a national mid year work teleconference on civil aviation. At the meeting, Song Zhiyong, Director General of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, stated that in the first half of the year, despite a year-on-year increase of 5.6% in flight volume, the rates of severe and general aviation emergencies decreased by 68.4% and 21.2% respectively, and the overall safety situation remained stable. In the first half of the year, there was a net increase of 123 international passenger routes, and the international passenger transport volume increased by 28.5% year-on-year; The domestic and international freight and postal transportation volume increased by 8.9% and 23.4% respectively year-on-year, with 16 new international freight navigation points added.
Fujian's ship exports increased by 36.5% year-on-year in the first half of the year
In the first half of this year, the cumulative export value of ships in Fujian Province was 8.77 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 36.5%. Among them, the value of exported ships in June was 1.29 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.6%. Driven by the strong blue engine of the marine economy, the global shipping market has seen a significant increase in demand for new shipbuilding, and Fujian's ship exports continue to perform well.
Customs data shows that the ship exports in Fujian Province are mainly from state-owned enterprises, with state-owned enterprise ship exports accounting for nearly 90% of the province's total ship export value in the first half of the year.
ASEAN and the European Union are the main markets for Fujian's ship exports, accounting for 50% of the total value of Fujian's ship exports during the same period. In addition, in the first half of the year, Fujian Province exported 6.73 billion yuan of ships to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", up 14.1% year on year, accounting for 76.8%.
Bank of China Golden Leasing signs new shipbuilding and leasing contracts with Minsheng Group and Sumeda Shipbuilding
On July 22nd, Zhongyin Golden Leasing held a signing ceremony for the "2+2 1100TEU container ship new shipbuilding contract and leasing contract" with Minsheng Group and Jiangsu Sumeda Shipbuilding. Among them, Zhongyin Golden Leasing serves as the owner and investor of the project vessel, Minsheng Group is the long-term leasing and management party of the vessel, and Sumida undertakes the construction of the vessel, forming a beneficial effect on the development of the shipping industry, aiming to provide customized services for the renewal of Minsheng Group's ocean going fleet.
This shipbuilding project is the first ocean going shipbuilding project undertaken by Bank of China Golden Leasing to assist Minsheng Group in entering a century old enterprise. The project adopts a conventional fuel+methanol reserve design, and the ship energy efficiency design index (EEDI) fully meets the requirements of the third stage and carbon emission intensity (CII). It is a green and environmentally friendly ship type that integrates economy, safety, and intelligence.
China Merchants Industrial Weihai Shipyard delivers 2800 meter roll on/roll off ship with track
Recently, China Merchants Industrial Group Weihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. completed and delivered the first 2800 meter roll on/roll off ship of the Stena NewMax series for shipowner Stena.
The ship has a total length of 147 meters, a width of 26.3 meters, a designed draft of 5.2 meters, a service speed of 16.5 knots, and can carry 12 passengers and 26 crew members. The ship has a capacity of 2800 meters of lanes, which can maximize cargo volume and increase the capacity of roll on/roll off ships currently operated by Stena by 80%.
US shipyards welcome their first LNG ship order in nearly 50 years
On July 22, South Korea's Hanwha Group announced that its subsidiary, Hanwha Marine, has acquired an order for a 174000 cubic meter LNG ship from its subsidiary, Hanwha Shipping, in Philadelphia, USA. This is also the first large-scale LNG transport ship order obtained by a US shipbuilding company in nearly 50 years, and is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2028.
It is reported that the order is worth at least 250 million US dollars and includes one alternative order. Although most of the ship construction will be carried out at Hanhua Marine Juji Shipyard, Hanhua Philadelphia Shipyard will be responsible for regulatory compliance and safety certification in the United States. Although the vessel does not meet the requirements of the Jones Act, Hanwha Group stated that its main goal is to transfer advanced technology to enhance the production capacity of the Philadelphia shipyard and lay the foundation for independently undertaking the construction of large LNG ships in the future. According to reports, this move is also in line with the US plan to gradually mandate the use of LNG transport ships built in the US for LNG exports starting from 2029.
Hanhua Group spent $100 million to acquire the Philadelphia Shipyard at the end of 2023. Afterwards, Hanhua Group announced plans for further investment, intending to transform the Philadelphia shipyard into a modern production center and increase its annual construction capacity to 10 ships by 2035.
300 million US dollars! Polaris wins 5-year transportation contract with Vale
Recently, Brazilian mining giant Vale signed a transportation contract worth approximately $300 million with South Korean shipping company Polaris, further consolidating their existing partnership. Polaris Shipping and Vale have finalized a five-year iron ore transportation contract involving four Newcastle type bulk carriers. The contract is valid from the first quarter of 2026 to 2031, during which these four ships will undertake the transportation of iron ore from Brazil to China.
It is reported that Polaris Shipping has a fleet of 29 ships, including 18 Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs), 2 Newcastle type bulk carriers, 5 Cape type bulk carriers, 2 LR2 tankers, and 2 feeder container ships.
Industry insiders say that Polaris is the third South Korean shipping company to sign a transportation contract with Vale this year. The other two are Han Xin Shipping (HMM) and Pan Ocean Shipping. Among them, Han Xin Shipping launched a 10-year cooperation in July, with a transaction scale of 6.362 trillion Korean won (approximately 462 million US dollars); The cooperation between Transocean Shipping and Vale began on April 15th, with a five-year contract involving two mineral sand ships worth approximately $160 million.
Shanxi's cumulative coal production in the first half of the year was about 650 million tons, accounting for nearly 30% of the country's total
According to the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Shanxi produced a total of 652.007 million tons of coal in the first six months of this year, ranking first in the country and accounting for about 27% of the total national production during the same period.
According to data from the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics, in order to cope with the peak electricity consumption in summer, Shanxi is making every effort to ensure the supply of electricity coal during the peak season. In June, the raw coal production reached 113.685 million tons, and the cumulative raw coal production in the first six months increased by 10.1% year-on-year.
