CHINA STATE PLANNER Infrastructure Development Department director Xia Xin said
water transport is a low-cost heavy-haul channel. During the 15th Five-Year Plan
During the period China will build about 2,500 km of national high-grade waterways and 100+
automated berths for 10,000-ton-and-above vessels, aiming to largely complete a
modern water-transport system. Priority measures include building world-class
ports and strengthening shipping services, industrial support and resources
allocation in the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta and Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao
port clusters, and enhancing bulk-commodity handling at major ports. Authorities
will also boost inland waterway connectivity, raise navigation capacity on the
Yangtze mainline, resolve key interprovincial navigation bottlenecks, and
accelerate projects to upgrade Shanghai into an international shipping center,
optimize Yangtze Delta and Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao port clusters, develop
southeast coastal and Beibu Gulf port clusters, and construct a new Three Gorges
shipping channel.
