Judging by the cargo flowing through Chinese maritime ports,
the world’s export king still reigns despite efforts by the United States and
Europe to diversify their trading relations.
That’s
among the takeaways in the One Hundred Ports 2024 report this week
from Lloyd’s List. China’s share of container volumes at the biggest 100
seaports globally rose to 41.3% last year, from 40.2% a year earlier, ten years
ago the figure stood at 36.6%.
In a distant second place was the rest of Asia, which as a
region had a 26.6% share, North America came in with 7.6% and Europe with 7.3%.
Linton
Nightingale, deputy editor with Lloyd’s List, said China’s position as the
Factory to the World “shows little sign of diminishing anytime soon.”
“Yes, shippers and manufacturers are looking to other
countries to source goods in a bid to diversify supply chains — a trend that
has accelerated off the back of the pandemic which caused a rethink on Chinese
reliance,” he said. “But as our data shows, the world continues to
rely heavily on its exports.”
Other key points from the report:
Of the world’s top 10 ports, measured by annual container
throughput, seven are in China
The steepest climber on the list was China’s Jiaxing,
which jumped 17 places to 58th
Rotterdam, a top-10 finisher in last year’s ranking, fell to
12th
Dubai climbed two spots to No. 9
The two biggest US ports each slipped two places — Los
Angeles to No. 18 and Long Beach to 21st
In a world where trade is a key battlefield for opposing
economic powers, the reason why rankings matter goes beyond bragging
rights. Ports are on the front lines of three major transformations:
protectionism, digitization and de-carbonization.
As a result, they’re neglected no more and stand to benefit
from more than US$200 billion in investments annually over the next decade,
according estimates reported in ‘Bloomberg’s Big Take’. The story zooms in
on eight of the world’s most dynamic ports, each trying to adapt to new
geopolitical and business realities.
“Trade
flows are changing and are growing more complex as shippers redirect cargoes to
skirt mounting geopolitical tensions,” Nightingale said.
In China’s case, “the trade war with US is the most
disruptive,” he said. “However, Chinese goods are still entering the US and
often via other emerging economies, whether Mexico, Vietnam or India, to
circumvent tariffs.”
Those alternative routes are among the reasons that China is
withstanding tariffs, export controls and other measures wielded by the US and
Europe, and may continue to do so as it expands into more advanced
manufacturing.
According
to a new research report from Lazard Geopolitical Advisory,
“China is largely undiminished as an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse.”
“Subsidies appear to be fueling a shift away from products
that helped create the Chinese miracle of the 1990s and 2000s, like textiles
and toys, into higher value-added products like computers and electric
vehicles, driven by domestic Chinese firms,” Lazard’s report said.
“Geopolitical tension and economic struggles must therefore
be weighed against the reality that China is still the largest global exporter
of goods and may succeed in its pivot to more high-tech products.”
