On July 14, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. According to the General Administration of Customs, China's total imports and exports of cargoes reached CNY21.79 trillion in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, setting a record high for the period and marking the seventh consecutive quarter of growth. Despite a challenging external environment, China's international trade has demonstrated resilience, sustained momentum, and continued vitality.

China's total imports and exports of cargoes reached CNY21.79 trillion in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, setting a record high. YANTIAN reported a 12.7% year-on-year growth in container throughput in the first half of 2025, also reaching a new record for the same period.

Following the press conference, CCTV-13's Live News aired a special feature, "Into Shenzhen YANTIAN: Witnessing China's International Trade Acceleration," providing an in-depth look at YANTIAN as a "key fulcrum" behind China's resilient trade growth. The report was prominently featured on the homepage of the CCTV News app.

#1 A world-class shipping hub driving China's international trade acceleration

According to data from Shenzhen Customs, YANTIAN recorded a 12.7% year-on-year increase in container throughput in the first half of this year, achieving double-digit growth and setting a new record.

As one of the world's largest single container terminals, YANTIAN handles over 40,000 TEUs every day, shipping cargoes to destinations worldwide and fully living up to its reputation as a "world-class shipping hub".

Under the lens of CCTV, the world's largest container vessel, being operated at YANTIAN, is capable of carrying over 24,000 TEUs. Soon, it will depart fully loaded with "Made in China" cargoes—including machinery, electronics, home appliances, furniture, and manufacturing supplies—bound for the UK, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and other European countries.

Since the beginning of this year, nearly 300 of these mega-vessels, each stretching nearly 400 metres in length, have berthed at YANTIAN. During the live broadcast, 20 mega container vessels were simultaneously handled at full capacity, with all berths fully occupied.

#2 Upgraded service network: faster, smoother global connections from YANTIAN

In the first half of this year, China's international trade enterprises continued to expand their global partnerships. YANTIAN welcomed 11 new services in 2025, bringing its total to over 100 weekly sailings that connect to ports worldwide. On average, 10 vessels depart YANTIAN daily for Europe and North America. Leveraging its unique advantage as the last port-of-call in China for most major routes, along with more than 10 dedicated cross-border e-commerce express services, YANTIAN is able to provide dense, extensive, fast, and high-quality shipping services to customers. This ensures the stability and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, offering strong support for international trade enterprises to accelerate their global reach.

Through its integrated multimodal transport system—including rail-sea services and an extensive feeder shuttle network—YANTIAN is building a stable, efficient, and green logistics corridor. Feeder services carrying loaded containers between YANTIAN and Hong Kong's Kwai Tsing Port continued to grow this year, following a nearly 30% year-on-year increase, setting new records while maintaining steady momentum.

Kwai Tsing Port primarily serves Asian and South American markets, boasting the largest number of Intra-Asia (120+) and South America (15) services in South China, while YANTIAN focuses on Europe and the US, with 4 vessels heading for Europe and 6 vessels heading for the US every day.

YANTIAN is also accelerating the development of its rail-sea corridors, including the "Chengdu-Shenzhen-Hong Kong" and "Chongqing-Shenzhen-Hong Kong" scheduled rail-sea services. At present, YANTIAN operates 33 rail-sea services. Building on six consecutive years of growth and a record high achieved last year, the volume of export laden containers shipped via rail-sea services has continued to grow steadily this year. With direct rail access into the port area and seamless integration with feeder shuttles to Hong Kong, YANTIAN is enhancing inland and coastal connectivity, ensuring smooth, efficient links between China's inland regions, Shenzhen YANTIAN, and Hong Kong's Kwai Tsing Port. This integrated approach fosters mutual benefits across the three regions while supporting the high-quality development of China's marine economy and international trade.

#3 Customs clearance facilitation fuels "China Speed"

Convenient customs clearance is a key pillar in enabling faster and smoother global trade flows. Shenzhen Customs has launched a special initiative to advance cross-border trade facilitation, introducing measures such as optimising the inspection and supervision model for lithium battery exports via YANTIAN to support the export of China's "New Three" (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells). These efforts also include expanding international shipping services, increasing the frequency of cross-border e-commerce express services, and opening up additional "channels for going global" for exporters.

YANTIAN will continue to expand its global service network, strengthening supply chain connectivity worldwide and further enhancing its role as a world-class shipping hub. It will support Shenzhen's drive to become a logistics centre with global influence while contributing to the high-quality development of international trade in the Greater Bay Area and across China.