Rhine Maersk, a container vessel from Denmark, arrives at the Dapukou Port in Jintang Port Area of the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province on Feb 9. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]
Since the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative was put forward six years ago, China has continuously increased its investment in countries and regions involved in the initiative, which has in turn boosted the development of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.
Statistics show that the port handled 1.08 billion metric tons of cargo and 26.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, ranking first globally in cargo turnover for the 10th consecutive year, and reaching the world's top three in container throughput for the first time.
Situated in a central location on the coastline of the Chinese mainland, the port is at the converging point of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which endows it the natural advantage of connecting China's mid and west areas with B&R countries and regions.
The port has been strengthening cooperation with global shipping companies over the past six years to open cargo routes and liners towards these countries.