The barometer of the global economy shows new movement! On July 10th, the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report (2026) was officially released. This authoritative report, jointly compiled by China Economic Information Service and the Baltic Exchange and published for thirteen consecutive years, once again outlines profound shifts in the global shipping landscape: Singapore retains the top spot for the thirteenth year, while Shanghai surpasses London for the first time to become the world's second-ranked centre. In this latest round of structural reshaping, Qingdao advanced one more position to rank 12th globally! It is particularly noteworthy that 14 of the top 20 shipping centres saw changes in their standings, a very rare occurrence in the report's thirteen-year history. Among them, Chinese shipping centres showed the most prominent collective performance—Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Qingdao, and Tianjin all rose by one place. Meanwhile, European centres collectively cooled, with London, Rotterdam, Athens-Piraeus, and Hamburg each falling by one position.
The wind has indeed shifted. The ebb and flow of global shipping centres is never a simple ranking game. The collective rise of Chinese ports reflects a comprehensive projection of the resilience of Chinese manufacturing, the advantages of complete industrial chains, and the deep transformation of the foreign trade structure. Amid the accelerated restructuring of global supply chains, Chinese ports are not only cargo throughput hubs but increasingly becoming strategic pivots connecting emerging markets with developed economies. In this deep restructuring, Qingdao has responded to the demands of the times with a continuously climbing ranking: from holding steady at 15th for five consecutive years, to jumping to 13th in 2025, and advancing another place to 12th in 2026. Each step forward is a testament to the city's relentless evolution from focusing on "tonnage" to prioritizing "efficiency," from being a "corridor" to becoming a "gateway," and from a "participant" to a "rule-maker."
Qingdao is drawing ever closer to the global top ten and the first tier of world-class international shipping centres.
Throughput: The Key to Advancement
Looking at the report for the reasons behind a city's rise, it's easy to see that "hardcore" strength is a crucial foundation. The report places significant emphasis on the throughput of Qingdao Port, citing a series of data to demonstrate the development capacity of the shipping centre. In terms of total volume, Shandong Port Qingdao's annual cargo throughput exceeded 740 million tons, and its container throughput reached 32.89 million TEUs, an increase of over 6% compared to 2024, placing it among the world's top five busiest container ports. Regarding ore import business and automated terminal handling efficiency, the report also notes evaluations such as "In 2025, Qingdao Port's new 400,000-ton ore terminal officially commenced operations, marking Qingdao as the first port in China to have a 400,000-ton dry bulk smart terminal and the first port in northern China to have a dual 400,000-ton ore terminal configuration" and "setting a world record for automated terminal handling efficiency for the 13th time."
Throughput is intrinsically linked to a port's capacity to handle resources and directly relates to its developmental level. By grasping this "key point," Qingdao has continued to break through and renew itself, using "hardware" to continuously expand and improve port handling capacity. In 2025, Qingdao Port opened 20 new shipping routes, with port cargo and container throughput remaining stable at 4th and 5th globally, respectively. Projects such as the North Shore Container Terminal upgrade and transformation, aimed at building a leading container hub port in Northeast Asia, accelerated, and the Dongjiakou Wanbang Ore Terminal was completed and put into operation. Currently, Qingdao has built the world's largest 400,000-ton ore terminal, a 450,000-ton crude oil terminal, and a world-class cruise passenger terminal, further strengthening its capacity to handle large-volume, high-capacity vessels.
It is worth noting that the accelerated evolution of a new round of technological revolution is also changing terminal development paradigms, opening new space for improving logistics efficiency. Seizing this opportunity, Qingdao has taken the lead in layout, introducing digital technology and using "smart terminals" to open a "second curve" for boosting throughput. It is understood that Qingdao has provided its port with a fully automated container terminal intelligent management and control system and a new generation of equipment intelligent control systems. Terminal operational efficiency has increased by 14.2%, with the single-machine peak operating efficiency of quay cranes reaching 67.76 natural containers per hour, yard container rehandling rates reduced by 15%, and cumulative economic benefits exceeding 1.4 billion yuan over the past three years. Currently, amid the wave of artificial intelligence, Qingdao is actively expanding application scenarios for its Ark TaaS large model, accelerating another leap in processing capabilities.
Sufficiently "hardcore" accumulation reflects the city's determination for continuous progress. It is precisely this solid strength that supports Qingdao's steady and long-term journey in building an international shipping centre.
Hub Positioning and Gateway Responsibility Define the Impetus for Upgrading
It is important to note that building an international shipping centre is a process requiring "racing" across multiple dimensions. For Qingdao to advance into the top 10, the "hard power" of throughput and hardware facilities is an important factor, but not the only one. The report clearly states that competition among international shipping centres has expanded from port scale and route network competition to comprehensive competition encompassing green transformation capabilities, digital innovation capabilities, shipping rule influence, and global resource allocation capabilities. When it comes to comprehensive competition like resource allocation, the "Qingdao model" offers a different perspective—a port's tonnage determines a city's lower limit, but the city's hub function is the upper limit for a shipping centre. In other words, "hardware parameters" reveal how far and wide Qingdao can radiate and connect.
Radiation Inward: Qingdao has moved its seaport to the doorsteps of inland enterprises. Behind the series of impressive figures for 2025—annual cargo throughput exceeding 740 million tons, container throughput of 32.89 million TEUs, and being one of the world's top five busiest container ports—lies Qingdao Port's radiating capacity as the largest foreign trade port in northern China to its vast inland hinterland. Located at the maritime-land crossroads of the Belt and Road, over half of the export goods from provinces like Henan and Shaanxi pass through Qingdao Port. How is convenient sea access achieved? Not only because the terminals are large and berths deep enough, but more importantly because Qingdao has built a collection and distribution network that allows inland cargo to "enter easily and exit quickly," which is a concentrated embodiment of "hub functionality." Currently, Qingdao has built 55 inland ports and operates 86 sea-rail intermodal train services—sea-rail intermodal volume reached 2.829 million TEUs in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 11%, ranking first in China for eleven consecutive years. Notably, Qingdao Customs has led the establishment of regular collaboration across all business areas among customs authorities in the "11+1" Yellow River basin region. Under the "Land-Sea Linkage, Sea-Rail Direct Transport" supervision model introduced, logistics time has been shortened by over 24 hours.
Connection Outward: Qingdao aims to be the "bridgehead" of the Asia-Pacific supply chain. A hub is never one-directional. If inward radiation tests Qingdao's hinterland attraction, then outward connection tests its open linkage capability. The report specifically points out that "shipping centres in the Asia-Pacific region overall show strong development momentum," and Qingdao Port ranks first in Northeast Asia in the international shipping hub competitiveness index. Relying on continuous exploration within institutional opening platforms like the Pilot Free Trade Zone and RCEP Pioneer Zone, Qingdao operated 1,225 China-Europe freight train trips in 2025, an increase of 20.5%; it dispatched 435 cross-border road transport (TIR) vehicles, an increase of 53.2%, ranking first in China in volume. Currently, the Qingdao International Energy Free Trade Port has commenced operations. To some extent, this is not just a "cargo channel" but a "system interface." Qingdao's outward connection is deepening from physical route coverage to rule-based open linkage.
Soft Power Expansion Accelerates Qingdao's Shipping Advancement
Among the three primary indicators of the index, shipping services carry a weight of 50%, port hardware conditions only 20%, and the comprehensive business environment 30%. This weighting clearly anchors the "service-oriented" core positioning of a modern international shipping centre. How did Shanghai surpass London? In addition to relying on its world-leading container throughput scale and continuously iterating port infrastructure, more importantly, it is due to its constantly improving high-end shipping service ecosystem. Similarly, Ningbo-Zhoushan's rise from earlier "relatively low shipping service scores" to now ranking 6th globally also confirms that high-end services are the core incremental factor for port upgrading.
Qingdao has a clear understanding of this. Over the past year, the city has made consecutive moves in the field of high-end shipping services. In 2025, the Greek Phoenix Register of Shipping established its Asian headquarters in the Qingdao Free Trade Zone, filling the gap for Qingdao, as a major port city, in hosting the headquarters of an important classification society. This marks Qingdao beginning to grasp core discourse power in the global ship technical inspection field.
Breakthroughs have also been made in shipping brokerage and transactions. The Shandong Port Ship Trading Platform has cumulatively served over 1,600 vessels, with transaction value reaching 3.3 billion yuan, firmly establishing itself as the largest ship trading platform in northern China and the third largest in the country, and becoming China's largest engineering vessel leasing platform. Furthermore, a batch of high-capacity platforms are accelerating their landing—Qingdao released ad hoc arbitration service rules, filling a regional institutional gap; several lawyers joined international maritime arbitration institutions such as London and Singapore; the establishment of the Belt and Road Legal Services Alliance Qingdao Representative Office further aggregated full-chain foreign-related legal resources, providing a "preferred location" for international commercial dispute resolution; the China Pilots Association Simulator Training Base, relying on Qingdao Pilot Station, began operations, capable of highly accurate simulations of 21 port areas and over 120 ship types, providing practical training platforms for pilots nationwide and enhancing industry talent reserves.
It can be said that these strategic moves are interlinked. A shipping service ecosystem covering the entire chain is rapidly taking shape in Qingdao, and its strategic direction is becoming increasingly clear—to build an international shipping centre. Qingdao's 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly calls for "accelerating the construction of a world-class international shipping centre," and the 2026 government work report also lists it as an annual key task. High-end shipping services are precisely the core soft power and key benchmark of an international shipping centre.
The restructuring of the global shipping map continues, with shipping centres in the Asia-Pacific region overall showing strong development momentum. For Qingdao, the 12th global position is both a phased achievement and a starting point for a new journey. Aiming to be not just a "large port" but a "strong port," and not just a "logistics hub" but a "resource allocation centre," Qingdao's path of advancement is worth watching.