The 10th Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Forum 2026 opened in Ningbo on the 27th. During the event, China Economic Information Service (CEIS) and the Waterborne Transport Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport (WTRI) jointly issued the Comprehensive Evaluation Report on World-Class Ports (2026) (hereinafter referred to as the Report).
According to the Report, the average comprehensive score of the 34 sampled global ports stands at 68.4 points, representing a year-on-year rise of 1.1%. Global ports are divided into two tiers in the Report: the World-leading Tier and the World Top-tier Tier. In the latest assessment, the Port of Singapore, Shanghai Port and Ningbo Zhoushan Port fall into the World-leading Tier. The World Top-tier Tier includes Shenzhen Port, Port of Busan, Qingdao Port, Port of Rotterdam, Guangzhou Port, Port of Hamburg, Tianjin Port and Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Co-compiled and released by CEIS and WTRI, the Report is mainly based on the Guideline for Building World-Class Ports jointly issued by nine government departments including the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission. By establishing an indicator system for world-class port evaluation and adopting combined quantitative and qualitative analysis, the Report carried out comprehensive assessments of 34 major global sampled ports. It aims to provide decision-making references and development guidance for China’s construction of world-class ports, while delivering comprehensive port data products and evaluation consulting services to competent authorities, port and shipping enterprises, financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders.
The Report has been released to the public for six consecutive years since 2021. Its research outcomes have drawn wide attention and strong support from all sectors of the industry and society, evolving into a core reference for judging development trends of China’s port sector and benchmarking domestic and international top ports. Through indicator guidance and benchmark demonstration, the Report steers the development of China’s world-class ports and elevates China’s discourse power and influence in global port evaluation systems.
As the construction of Qingdao International Shipping Center gains full momentum, Qingdao Port’s global standing keeps rising. In 2025, its cargo throughput exceeded 740 million tons and container throughput hit 32.89 million TEUs, up 4.1% and 6.5% year on year respectively, ranking fourth and fifth worldwide. The city climbed to the 13th place in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index, surpassing Tokyo of Japan and Busan of the Republic of South Korea for the first time in five years and taking the lead among the Northern Port Cluster. The milestone marks a remarkable improvement in the international influence and resource allocation capacity of Qingdao’s shipping industry. This coastal city home to a world-class port is accelerating its transformation from a renowned port city into a world-class international shipping center.
Editor: Zhou Jianliang/ Wang Yulin
