China's inland waterway freight volume exceeded two billion tons in the first five months this year, a year-on-year increase of around four percent, data from the Ministry of Transport shows.
As inland water transport serves as a vital corridor connecting different parts of China, China has been accelerating the construction of inland waterway routes since the beginning of this year.
At the Jingjiang section of the mainstream of the Yangtze River, the longest waterway in China, underwater operations are underway as part of a channel improvement project. The Jingjiang section accounts for only one-eighth of the Yangtze River mainstream's navigable length, but its sharp bends and shallow waters often lead to congestion and limit shipping capacity.
"When the project is completed, the navigable water depth during the dry season in the Jingjiang section will increase from the current 3.5 to 3.8 meters to 4.5 meters. Vessel tonnage will also increase from 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes, greatly unleashing the waterway's potential and reducing the logistics costs of Yangtze River shipping," said Liu Xiaoying, an official from Yangtze Yichang Waterway Engineering Bureau.
For every 0.1-meter increase in this navigable depth, a 5,000-tonne cargo vessel is expected to carry about an additional 150 tons of goods, which will boost profit margins by around 12 percent.
China will increase the mileage of newly upgraded waterways by 900 kilometers by the end of this year, as key projects on the Yangtze River, Xijiang River, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are accelerating their progress.
China's inland waterway freight volume hits over 2 bln tons in first 5 months of 2025
Hailing China as a global leader in renewable energy, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae Myung has expressed his strong optimism that deepening cooperation with China in the area will unlock abundant opportunities for his country.
In an interview with the China Media Group in Seoul, capital of the ROK, ahead of his upcoming state visit to China from Jan 4 to 7, Lee highlighted China's remarkable progress in clean energy and technological innovation.
He recalled his previous visits to China during his tenures as the mayor of Seongnam and later as the governor of Gyeonggi Province, when he toured Chinese cities including Chongqing and Dalian. Even then, he spoke highly of China's robust innovation capacity and commitment to high-quality development.
"I have visited China from time to time and witnessed its rapid development. It was almost a completely different country each time I went. China has rapidly transitioned to renewable energy, and it is now a global leader in the renewable energy industry, especially in solar energy," said Lee.
"China possesses truly outstanding capabilities to identify opportunities amid crises and focus national capacities on them to develop new technologies and drive industrial growth. This trend is likely to continue for quite a long period of time, and I anticipate that the cooperative relationship between the ROK and China will open up abundant opportunities for the ROK in this regard," he said.
It will be Lee's first visit to China since taking office in June 2025, and also the first visit to the country by an ROK president since 2019.
It will also marks that the two heads of state have exchanged visits within two months as Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the ROK from Oct 30 to Nov 1, 2025.
Deepening cooperation with China to unlock abundant opportunities for ROK: president
