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 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 resource allocation in the Bohai R

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 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 resource 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.