China's Yangtze River remains world's busiest inland waterway by cargo throughput

An aerial drone photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows the import and export container terminal at Longtan Port in Nanjing City along the Yangtze River. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo)

The Yangtze River trunk line has remained the world's busiest inland waterway in terms of cargo throughput, an official said on Monday.

The annual cargo throughput at ports along the river's trunk line has surged by 71 percent to 4.2 billion metric tons over the past decade, Wang Changlin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference.

An aerial drone photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows the import and export container terminal at Longtan Port in Nanjing City along the Yangtze River. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo)