The Yangtze River Economic Belt covers 11 provinces and municipalities, accounting for about half of the country's population and economic output. Over the past decade since the implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy, my country has accelerated the construction of a comprehensive and integrated transportation corridor along the Yangtze River. The length of high-grade waterways in the Yangtze River system has increased from 8,000 kilometers to 11,000 kilometers, and the cargo throughput of trunk ports has increased by 71% to 4.2 billion tons.
At Taicang Port in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, the port's export volume has been increasing year by year in recent years, driven by the rapid growth in exports of new energy vehicles. Currently, the port is bustling with activity; let's experience the accelerating pace of Chinese manufacturing going global.
CCTV reporter Huang Guanhua: Accompanied by the sound of the ship's horn, the car carrier "Huanghu" slowly left its berth at Taicang Port under the guidance of the pilot ship. This is also the maiden voyage of "Huanghu" in 2026. The ship is carrying more than 2,000 new energy vehicles of Chinese brands and is about to set sail for destinations such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Egypt.
Taicang Port's automobile exports will exceed 800,000 units by 2025.
According to the latest data from Nanjing Customs, in 2025, the number of automobiles exported from Taicang Port exceeded 800,000, which means that at least one out of every ten automobiles exported nationwide last year came from Taicang.
As the last stop on the Yangtze River inland waterway, Taicang Port boasts 38 kilometers of prime shoreline and a deep-water channel exceeding 12 meters. From inland river vessels weighing a few tons to ocean-going vessels weighing 200,000 tons, all can dock here, carrying cars produced in Chongqing, Hubei, and Anhui. These cars travel downstream along the Yangtze River, arrive at the port, and then transfer from smaller boats to larger vessels to sail to destinations around the world.
Institutional innovation empowers
Taicang Port's advantages as a "large ship and large port" are becoming increasingly apparent.
In fact, it's not just automobiles. Over the past 10 years, Taicang Port, as the largest foreign trade port on the Yangtze River, has increasingly highlighted its characteristics as a "large port with large ships." In addition to the locational advantages of the golden waterway, it has also benefited from the institutional innovation of the Yangtze River Delta regional integration.
Because of its proximity to Shanghai, Taicang Port and Shanghai Port have achieved regional customs clearance integration. Goods arriving at Taicang Port are considered to have entered Shanghai Port, with "one declaration, one inspection, and one release" between the two locations, greatly simplifying the customs clearance process. Due to these locational and institutional advantages, more and more high-value-added products are choosing to export from here. In addition to new energy vehicles, the "new three pillars" of foreign trade also include lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, all of which are new growth points.
Protecting the Yangtze River shoreline
Exploring new paths for green port development
At the intelligent dispatch and control center of Wugang Terminal in Taicang Port, a large electronic screen displays a 1:1 digital twin representation of the entire terminal operation system. This combination of online and offline, virtual and real-world data enables comprehensive control over the entire terminal operation process. It upgrades the previous manual response to intelligent intervention, achieving closed-loop management from early warning to response. Thanks to these measures, the terminal recently became the first iron ore terminal in China to be rated a five-star green port.
The concept of green development is not only reflected on the shore. Recently, Taicang Port also completed the first pilot project of pile foundation bank protection technology implemented in ultra-deep water and high flow velocity environment in the Yangtze River Basin, safeguarding the safety of the Yangtze River shoreline.
