Break through the 4 billion tons mark for the first time! Data from the Yangtze River Navigation Administration of the Ministry of Transport shows that in 2024, the cargo throughput of the Yangtze River main line port is expected to be 4.02 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. So far, since 2005, the freight scale of the Yangtze River main line has ranked first in the world inland rivers for 20 consecutive years.

What is the level of 4 billion tons? Looking back on the past, the feeling is more real.

In the early days of the founding of New China, the annual throughput of the Yangtze River main line was only about 4 million tons. In the 1980s, the throughput exceeded 100 million tons, exceeded 1 billion tons in 2007, and reached a new level of 3 billion tons in 2019. It took only five years to complete a new leap of 1 billion tons... The freight volume that set a new high outline outlined a smoother, smarter and greener modern "golden waterway", and also showed three changes worth paying attention to by Yangtze River Shipping.

The first change: Looking at the trade structure, foreign trade growth rate is faster than domestic trade.

Ports, the "barometer" of the economy. Looking at the Yangtze River, there is a busy scene: at the Orchard Port of Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, thousands of new energy vehicles are sent from here to all parts of the world every day; at the Suzhou Port Terminal, the largest car roll-on and roll-off terminal in the Yangtze River Basin is put into operation, and domestic cars have added a new portal to go overseas...

The "Golden Waterway" has been competing for the current, intertwining into a vibrant development picture. In the first three quarters of 2024, the total import and export volume of goods in the Yangtze River Economic Belt reached 14.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%. The steady expansion of foreign demand has driven sustained economic growth. In the first three quarters of last year, the Yangtze River Economic Belt achieved a regional GDP of 44.26 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. Through the more modern "golden waterway", the 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt have "multiple hands to bounce" to better connect the domestic and international markets and make good use of the two resources, and continue to "supply and recharge" the Chinese economy in a steady and stable manner.

The second change: Looking at the cargo structure, the export proportion of "new three" has increased.

In 2024, many "new three" production enterprises in provinces along the Yangtze River will accelerate production and export growth are good. Looking at the upstream, Sichuan Yibin Port has added water express trains and foreign trade container liners to Wuhan, allowing more "Yibin" to reach the river and the sea. In 2024, Yibin City's import and export of goods trade was 35 billion yuan, of which the total value of the "new three" foreign trade imports and exports exceeded 7.5 billion yuan. Looking downstream, in 2024, the export of new energy vehicles from Wuhu Port in Anhui was about 21,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%, and the export of "new three" products such as Nanjing Port in Jiangsu was nearly 85,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of more than 30%.

The proportion of bulk goods such as coal has decreased, and the proportion of manufacturing products, especially the "new three", has increased. In the past year, the gratifying change of the "one decrease and one increase" of the Yangtze River shipping cargo has become a vivid epitome of China's continuous optimization of China's export structure, and also marks the pace of development of China's high-end, intelligent and green manufacturing. As the water transport artery that connects east and west, north and south, and connects rivers and seas, the increasingly modern "golden waterway" has created more new advantages for "Made in China".

The third change: looking at the regional structure, central provinces have the fastest growth rate.

Wuhan Yangluo International Port, the number of inbound and outbound ships "over 100" for the first time last year, with cargo throughput increasing by 22.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2024; the eyes went down, Jiangxi Jiujiang Port, and the rail-water transport reached 27 cities and cities across the country, better helping to "make things flow smoothly". The cargo throughput reached 200 million tons in the first 11 months of last year... In the first 11 months of 2024, the cargo throughput in the central provinces increased by 9.2% year-on-year, with a significant growth rate leading the eastern provinces and becoming a bright color of Yangtze River shipping.

The freight volume has achieved a leading position, reflecting the positive momentum of the regional economy. Anhui seizes a new track for the development of new energy vehicles, Hubei deepens its efforts in the photoelectronic information industry cluster, and Hunan creates a new highland for high-end equipment manufacturing... Seize the important development opportunities to promote the rise of the central region in the new era, and central provinces accelerate the leadership of industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation. Standing at a higher starting point and relying on the modern "golden waterway", the role of the central "backbone" in the overall national development situation is becoming increasingly obvious.

The development of the economy and society is inseparable from the nourishment of the great rivers. With water as a link, the Yangtze River connects the upstream and downstream, left and right banks, and main and tributaries, and undertakes the transportation of more than 80% of the required iron ore, electric coal and foreign trade goods required for economic and social development along the river. Its direct contribution to the economic and social development along the river exceeds 120 billion yuan per year and an indirect contribution of more than 2 trillion yuan. The new high-speed freight scale and the busy picture of freighters are surging with the vigorous vitality of China's economy.

The Yangtze River is vast and prosperous. The Yangtze River Shipping, which is standing at a new starting point, will continue to write new chapters.