Qingdao Port [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]

Both Qingdao Port and Rizhao Port released their 2020 annual reports at the end of March – in performances which showcased strong results in the circumstances, amid the lingering impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on the world's economy.

Last year, powered by integration reforms at Shandong Port Group, or SPG – one of the world's biggest ports operators, based in Qingdao city in East China's Shandong province – the two subsidiaries posted prosperous sets of numbers for both cargo throughput and financial results.

In 2020, Qingdao Port handled 540 million tons of cargo, up 4.5 percent year-on-year. Container throughput hit 21.01 million twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs – standard 20-foot containers – an increase of 4.7 percent on 2019.

Even better, the port's annual operating revenue came in at 13.21 billion yuan ($2 billion), up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

Rizhao Port handled 262.56 million tons of cargo, an increase of 6.22 percent year-on-year. Operating revenue hit 5.77 billion yuan, up 9.94 percent on the previous year.

Parent group SPG reportedly played a key role in boosting the two listed companies' robust performances. They were said to have benefited from SPG's integration reforms, enabling Qingdao Port and Rizhao Port to achieve robust growth throughout 2020 despite the COVID-19 onslaught.

Leveraging SPG's global trading network and powerful commercial platform, both were able to meet the challenges presented by the pandemic.

In terms of cargo throughput, Qingdao Port surpassed the Port of Singapore, while Rizhao Port's cargo volume overtook that of the Port of Rotterdam. As such, the two SPG ports were ranked among the global top 10.

The SPG has moved to open shipping routes, expand vessel capacity and promote transshipment services. Last year, SPG opened 10 inter-port feeder services and launched several two-way routes linking it to 10 nearby coastal ports, including Tianjin Port and Shanghai Port.

In 2020, the port group opened 35 container seaborne routes, including 18 foreign trade routes, bringing the total number to 300, ranking it top among coastal port operators in northern China.

Landwards, efforts have been made to lay on more freight trains, establish inland ports and expand  cargo categories. Six new freight trains began service in 2020, taking the total number to 70.

Furthermore, SPG opened three inland ports, taking the total number it operates to 18. Its sea-rail intermodal transportation capacity exceeded two million TEUs annually, maintaining top position among the country's coastal port operators. 

Spurred by that call, SPG has chartered a course for its development in five main areas: internationally advanced smart and green ports, logistics hubs, ports for industry-city integration, finance and trade ports, as well as cruise and tourism ports.

Of those, industry-city integrated port construction has attracted the most attention from the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and Shandong's government, which have written it into the province's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

The company has also reportedly signed strategic cooperation agreements with 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong and launched several integrated port-industry-city projects worth 150 billion yuan – aiming to become the "golden partner" that drives regional economic growth.

Rizhao Port [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]