After exceeding last year's aggregate container volume 34 days ahead of schedule, the cargo throughput of Shandong Port Group (SPG) surpassed 1.51 billion metric tons on Dec 3, overtaking last year's total volume 28 days ahead.

Since this year, SPG has been committed to ensuring the stability of industrial and supply chains and promoting the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Efforts have been made to turn its strategic opportunity, development potential and reform dividends into a competitive edge and developmental strength, which has injected strong development momentum into the group's high-quality growth.

SPG has deepened inter-port production collaboration among port subsidiaries. Qingdao Port, Rizhao Port and Yantai Port have increased the volume of cargo transshipment to Bohai Bay Port. Meanwhile, taking Qingdao Port as a central hub, Rizhao, Yantai and Bohai Bay ports have increased maritime traffic with Qingdao Port through feeder services.

SPG has joined hands with domestic and overseas port counterparts and deepened cooperation with relevant partners such as COSCO Shipping, Maersk and China Railway Jinan Group. It has worked together with 24 units and enterprises along the Yellow River, and launched an initiative to serve ecological protection and high-quality development of the YRB. It has also cooperated with China Railway Jinan Group to unveil 15 service commitments for carriers and enterprises, and established business relationships with over 600 large-scale enterprises in the YRB.

Despite challenges arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the changing shipping market, SPG has beefed up efforts to develop container business. In July, it cooperated with 11 domestic and global shipping partners including CMA CGM, MSC, PIL and Zhonggu Shipping, and opened five direct shipping routes connecting itself to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP member countries, and two oceangoing lines to North and South America. A total of seven new international shipping routes were launched in a single month. In the first 11 months of this year, SPG has launched 35 container services, bringing the total route number to over 320.

Overland, SPG has worked together with customs authorities, railway groups and shipping companies to launch five inland ports and five freight lines, taking the total number to 31 and 81, respectively, which has further optimized its logistics network. In addition, it has taken an active part in implementing environmental protection and high-quality development of the YRB and provided whole-process "door-to-door" services to enterprises by forging a new channel featuring "regions along the YRB-SPG-South China".

Going forward, SPG plans to build on existing achievements and accelerate the move towards accomplishing annual targets, with a bid to achieve outstanding performance for the year and pave a more solid foundation for its development in 2023.

SPG deepens inter-port production collaboration among port subsidiaries. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]