SHANGHAI is still the top container port on the mainland, according to the latest list issued by the Ministry of Communication.

The recently-released 2003 Report on China's Shipping Development showed that Shanghai, with a throughput last year of 11.28 million TEU (31 per cent up on 2002), ranked number one on the list of the 10 biggest container ports in the PRC.

Shenzhen remains second with a throughput of 10.65 million TEU in 2003, an increase of 39.8 per cent over the previous year.

Other ports in descending order were: Qingdao (4.23 million TEU, up 24.3 per cent); Tianjin (3.01 million TEU, a 25.2 per cent rise); Ningbo (2.77 million TEU, an increase of 49.1 per cent); Guangzhou (2.76 million TEU, up 27.4 per cent); Xiamen (2.33 million TEU, an increase of 32.9 per cent); Dalian(1.67 million TEU, up 23.6 per cent); Zhongshan (755,000 TEU, an increase of 17.5 per cent); and Fuzhou (598,000 TEU, up 24.3 per cent).

Ningbo and Guangzhou were the only ports that switched positions compared with the list of 2002.

The report pointed out that with the nation's rapid growth in foreign trade China handled a record 47.36 million TEU last year, a 30 per cent year-on-year increase, eclipsing the US as the world's largest container handling country. The report said that up to the end of 2003, Shanghai had attracted a total of 66 foreign shipping companies to set up offices in the city.

Shenzhen Port last year played host to 330 international vessels each month, a increase of 40 vessels compared with the year before, the report added.