Ningbo Zhoushan Port demonstrates resilience amid trade challenges

Ningbo Zhoushan Port in east China's Zhejiang Province is demonstrating resilience in the face of U.S. tariffs by launching new trade routes and adapting swiftly to evolving market demands.

Ningbo, a hub for international trade, has further strengthened its position by embracing innovative solutions such as direct maritime routes and enhanced connectivity to Europe.

Building on this resilience, Ningbo Zhoushan Port unveiled the "China-Europe Express" in December 2024, a direct maritime route to Europe offering seamless "point-to-point" service. This innovation not only slashes shipment times but also reinforces the port's adaptability to global trade challenges.

"Previously, cargo shipped from Hefei City in east China to Europe went through the China-Europe Railway Express or traditional sea routes, which took about 40 days. Now, it only takes 27 days on the Anhui-Ningbo-Europe express route," said Gu Xuhui, marketing director for Zhejiang Seaport Logistics.

The express route connects the "China-Europe Express" with a freight railway from east China’s Anhui Province to facilitate more exporters.

Europe has become one of the major destinations for the port.

"Between January and April, we handled 1.31 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TUEs), up six to seven percentage points year on year," said He Binli, vice manager of Operations with Ningbo Daxie Container Terminal.

While the port is fully prepared for potential foreign trade fluctuations, exporters in the city are also shifting their focus to other markets.

Xu Ziyang, a seasoned medical equipment exporter, began preparing as early as 2017, driven by concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies towards China.

"[U.S. tariffs] have had little impact on us. In fact, we started adjusting back in 2017 to 2019, during his previous term. We aligned with China’s national strategy to expand into Belt and Road countries, as well as South American and African markets," said Xu, general manager of Ningbo Greeted Medical Instruments.

Xu’s sales jumped by 12 percent in 2024, and he expects continued growth this year.

Ningbo Zhoushan Port demonstrates resilience amid trade challenges

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command and China Coast Guard said in two separate statements that their forces conducted patrols in the territorial sea and airspace of China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas on Saturday.

The PLA Southern Theater Command said in an online statement that its naval and air units on Saturday conducted readiness patrols in the territorial sea and airspace of China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas.

It said that since February, its naval and air units have strengthened maritime and air patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of Huangyan Dao. The moves are an effective countermeasure to cope with all sorts of rights-violation and provocative acts and respond to the so-called joint patrols by relevant countries, according to the statement.

They are meant to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and security and uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea, said the statement.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) on Saturday conducted law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters off China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas in the South China Sea.

The CCG said in a statement that since February, it has stepped up law enforcement patrols in this area, handling illegal and infringing vessels in accordance with the law and regulations, while intensifying control over relevant maritime areas, thus maintaining China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests.

China PLA, Coast Guard patrol around Huangyan Dao