Jiang Qian: 40 years of water transport

In 1978, China’s first self-designed large-scale coal port was built. Forty years later, China has numerous ports dedicated to iron ore, crude oil.

In 1978, the Yangtze river was not yet open to foreign ship. Forty years later, Yangtze River has become the largest navigable river in the world in terms of volume, with more than 1,000 kilometers of open water.

Jiang Qian, former chief engineer of the Ministry of Transport, attributed the rapid growth in shipping to successful planning and innovation to support national development strategy and follow the international market trend.

Reform and Openingup

Development of China’s coastal ports began in 1973, following the call by the State Council to “transform ports in three years”.

According to Jiang, the focus at that time was on renovating and expanding the existing ports. A 100,000-ton pier would be a great wonder. It was at that time the ports in Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Rizhao and Beilun were built.

From 1973 to 1980, a total of 81 new wharfs with a capacity of greater than 10,000 tons were built across the county. Despite the growth, the annual growth in handling capacity was less than 20 million tons. “Yet that was already a good progress,” Jiang said.

Reform and opening up brought in new market demands. Coastal ports were one of the first areas opening to foreign investment. Between 1980 and 1990, over 200 deep-water berths were built, and the annual growth in handling capacity reached 40 million tons. Jiang believed that opening ports to the outside world greatly facilitated trade.

In the early days of reform and opening up, 14 coastal cities at the frontlines showcased the importance of ports for trade. Many other coastal cities wanted to jump on the bandwagon, but the limited funding posed a major challenge.

In 1989, the Ministry of Transport started research on building major waterways and port hubs. “We jumped out of the box of the traditional planning, focusing on how to meet the demand of transporting coals and export goods,” Jiang said.At that time, China’s industrialization resulted in a huge demand for coal transport. How to bring the coal from the north to the south, and how to ship goods to ports for exporting became the key focuses.

The ministry’s “Three-Major and One-Support Plan” – a major transport plan – eventually identified 22 major coastal ports, which were given preferential policies and financing supports. “The plan echoed the demand for economic development and opening up, while also adapted to the reality that we had limited funds at that time,” Jiang said.

In 1992, Deng Xiaoping delivered his famous Southern Tour speeches, which injected new fuels into China’s reform and opening up program. The Ministry of Transport further upgraded its policies, regulations and plans. “That was a booming period for port construction, thanks to the foreign investment and local governments’ efforts. In ten years, more than 400 ports and deep-water wharfs were built, the annual growth in capacity reached 70 million tons,” Jiang said.

Scientific layout of coastal ports

Once the national hub ports had been built, the focus shifted on buikding regional ports. The ministry subsequently came up with regional plans as the next. The original Ministry of Transport made plans for five regions including the Bohai Bay, the Yangtze River Delta, the Southeast Coast, the Pearl River Delta, and the Southwest Coast.

“Our plan for the Pearl River Delta region sparked a lot of controversies,” Jiang said, “In the 1990s, Guangdong suffered greatly from power shortage, and the ministry planned three major coal ports in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai.”

“We made thorough research regarding container volume, international demand and container transport routes, port advantages, etc. and decided a major container port for Shenzhen, with Hong Kong as the international shipping center,” Jiang said. The plan was the first regional plan, which also solved the conflicts between transporting coal and containers.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has seen rapid growth in metallurgy, petro-chemistry, power industries, which also created huge demand for import of commodities and other types of resources. “Based on what we’ve already achieved over previous years, we then proposed planning for eight major transport systems for coal, oil, iron ore, container, crops, vehicles and logistics, roll-on-roll-off shipment and passenger transport to serve the national economy and improve people's livelihood,” Jiang said.

In September 2006, the State Council approved the National Layout Plan for the Coastal Ports, dividing coastal ports into five groups, namely the Bohai Bay, the Yangtze River Delta, the Southeast coast, the Pearl River Delta and the Southwest coast, based on the development status and characteristics of each region. The regional port groups were then to be linked by roads, railways and inland rivers to build a comprehensive transport sytem. The plan also designated seven ports for coal, as well as others for crude oil, iron ore and containers.

In the first decade of the 21st century, China's port construction has been at its peak, with annual port capacity surpassing 200 million tons. The scientific planning has ensured the adequate port capacity to support transport of bulk cargo such as energy, raw materials, as well as the rapid development of the national economy and trade.

Network of inland water transport

The “Three-Major and One-Support Plan” also provides important guidance for inland river navigation. By the end of 1994, China's domestic river navigation mileage reached 110,200 kilometers, with 42 deep-water berths of over 10,000 tons. However, the development of inland navigation was slower than it was needed and could not meet the demand for rapid economic growth.

In 1995, the ministry started to build a number of key projects in the “two horizontal, one vertical and two networks” (Two horizontal: Yangtze River artery and the Xijiang shipping trunk line; one vertical: the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal; two networks: high-grade waterway networks in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta).

“Building upon the upgrading deep-water waterways at the Yangtze Estuary and renovating the ship locks at the Three Gorges, we improved the waterway management of the Yangtze River artery,” Jinag said. The trunk waterway improvement project was led and mainly funded by the central government, and the remaining high-grade ones were completed by local governments.

The Layout Plan for China’s Inland Waterways and Ports was published in 2007, which defined the “two horizontal, one vertical, two networks and 18 river lines” and 28 major ports. As a result, the inland waterway transport development gained momentum. “We intensified our efforts to develop the inland waterways according to the plan,” Jiang Qian said.

The Yangtze River is the only waterway running through the eastern, central and western regions of China, therefore becoming the focus of inland waterway development. Since 1998, the transport departments have improved deep-water waterways at the Yangtze River estuary. The water depth of the Yangtze River estuary has increased from 7 meters to 12.5 meters. The navigation conditions were greatly improved.

Transforming and upgrading to better manage resources

“During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the major national strategies also offered a major opportunity for waterway transport development. The Ministry of Transport has made plans in line with national strategies including the Belt and Road Initiative, development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the revitalization of the old industrial base in Northeast China, as well as the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” Jiang said.

Ports in the Greater Bay Area are increasingly clear in their functions with Shenzhen focusing on container transport, Guangzhou on container and large bulk cargo, and Zhuhai on bulk cargo.

In the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the transport industry is adapting to the new policy of conserving the environment while making sure the smooth transportation of goods.

“Before 2010, the focus of water transport development was how to meet the rapid growth of transport volume and the need for large and specialized ships. Now, confronted with resources and environmental constraints, our focus must be on transformation and high-quality development, which must rely on technological innovation and information-based development,” Jiang said.

Water transport now is developing towards high intelligence, efficiency and informatization.