Tianjin Port, one of the world's top 10 ports in cargo volume, is accelerating its efforts to become a world-class international shipping hub, said Liang Yongcen, vice-chairman of Tianjin Port (Group) Co.
Currently, there are five major ports along the 640-kilometer coastline of Hebei province and Tianjin, including Cangzhou, Huanghua, Caofeidian, Qinhuangdao and Tianjin. Together, they aim to form an international port cluster, with Tianjin as the hub.
In recent years, Tianjin Port has been a key point in North China for ocean transportation. It has sharpened its competitive edge and aided the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
Led by Tianjin Port, the ports in the region decided to join hands, rather than compete as rivals. Since 2014, ports in Tianjin and Hebei set up joint companies to expand their shipping network.
To date, Tianjin Port has developed a network of 19 shipping routes featuring ports in Hebei. The container throughput of the shipping network topped more than 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units last year, up 67 percent year-on-year, Zhang said.
Tianjin Port plays a pivotal role in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development.