Qingdao Port, a subsidiary of Shandong Port Group SPG, ranks among the top leagues in the world's port sector. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

Qingdao Port, a subsidiary of Shandong Port Group (SPG), has ranked among the top leagues in the world's port sector thanks to its large container throughput, efficient port handling operations and advanced technological innovation applications, according to the World's Leading Ports Comprehensive Elevation Report (2022), which was jointly released by the China Economic Information Service and the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute.

According to the report, Qingdao Port posted an outstanding performance in 2022. By upgrading container efficiency and promoting its service brand, accelerating automated container terminal development, promoting the utilization of green energy at ports and expanding cargo categories on both sea-oriented and land-oriented development, Qingdao Port accomplished a total cargo throughput of 630 million metric tons in 2021, ranking fourth in the world, and it handled 23.71 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), jumping up to first place in Northeast Asia and sixth place globally.

Fei Wenjun, dean of the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute, said that the international container ports have faced port congestion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made the role of ports as global logistics hubs even more prominent. However, Chinese ports have maintained efficient operations and shown strong resilience, thus making important contributions to the smooth functioning and stability of the international logistics supply chains.

The China Economic Information Service and the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute's report serves as a guideline for building world-class sea ports. By creating a measurement system and evaluation mechanisms for world's leading ports, it can comprehensively evaluate the development level of ports across the world and their international rankings to offer intellectual support for the development of Chinese ports.

In the future, Qingdao Port plans to speed up the progress of constructing an international shipping hub center in Northeast Asia and make more contributions to helping SPG grow into a world-class sea port operator.