East China's Shandong Province, an economic powerhouse in the country, is set to build a world-class ports cluster in 2023, according to a government work report released by Shandong Governor Zhou Naixiang.  

In 2023, the province will complete the third phase of its automated terminal at Qingdao Qianwan Port and the second phase of a 300,000-tonne crude oil terminal in western Yantai Port, said Zhou. 

The throughput of the province's coastal ports reached 1.75 billion tonnes in 2022, ranking first in the country. The total import and export volume in 2022 exceeded 3 trillion yuan (about $448 billion), with the actual use of foreign investment nearly doubling, according to Zhou. 

In 2021, Shandong coastal ports' throughput ranked second in China, and the container volume exceeded 37 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2022, ranking third in the world.

Port shipments are known as the "barometer" of an economy. Its rise in the ranking shows the active trade, vitality and resilience of the province's economy.

Qingdao Port, an international shipping hub in Northeast Asia, added 28 new container routes in 2022, with a 10-percent year-on-year increase in international transshipment.

Its volume of sea-rail intermodal transportation also exceeded 1.9 million TEUs, keeping its first-place ranking for eight consecutive years in China.

Huo Gaoyuan, chairman of Shandong Port Group Co, said the group will launch a modern shipping integrated service system, promoting the linkage of its four coastal ports, to accelerate the construction of an international ocean shipping hub in Northeast Asia.

In 2023, Shandong will focus on developing its marine economy, said Zhou, noting that the province will improve regional land-sea integration, cultivate high-end offshore equipment manufacturing for oil and gas development, as well as new energy, and accelerate the development of high-tech ships, industrial parks and urban integration.