Maritime Cluster

China has a significant impact on international trade, the global economy and international shipping,
port and logistics industries. The economic development of China has boosted the rapid growth of
shipping ports and shipbuilding industry. Recognized as a shipping giant and an important shipbuilding
power, China is one of the world leaders in terms of its total port capacity and volume of handling
(www.shippingonline.cn).

Three clusters of ports are about to take shape in China: Bohai Bay in the north, the Yangtze River Delta,
and the Pearl River Delta. The aim is to improve trading capacity and make the Chinese coast home to
some of the world's largest trading ports. China possesses the world's largest cargo throughput since
2004, and Shanghai is the world's largest port in handling tonnage. According to the Ministry of
Communications, the total throughput of containers, measured in TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units),
will increase from 74.41 million in 2005 to 130 million in 2010. China already owns 10 of the world's 25
largest sea ports. Almost all of the major coastal ports are expanding with a focus on the transportation
of containers and on raw materials such as crude oil. Shanghai will serve as the pillar of East China's port
cluster while Dalian, Tianjin and Qingdao will form the three most important hubs around Bohai Bay
(www.dl.gov.cn).

After the port expansion programme is complete, the Chinese mainland will have the capacity to handle
an additional 80 million tons of crude oil in 2010 (Mackey 2006). Multinationals and the lowering of
trade barriers have during the last two decades made coastal regions China’s economic powerhouses.
Equipped with sufficient technology for environmental protection, coastal regions should be top choices
for industrial and manufacturing bases due to their transportation links granting them with easy access
to the world market (
Bohai Bay Cluster

Port group I: Northeast port-group II: Shandong port-group III: Tianjin & Hebei port-group
1. Dalian Port 2. Hulu port 3. Jinzhou port 4. Yinkou port 5. Dandong port 6. Qingdao Port
7. Weihai port 8. Yantai port 9. Longkou port 10. Tianjin Port 11. Qinhuangdao port 12. Tangshan
port 13. Cangzhou port

Ports around the Bohai Bay in China can be generally divided into three groups (Figure 1), the northeast
port-group with Dalian Port as the hub and others such as Hulu port, Jinzhou port, Yinkou port and
Dandong port as subordinates, the Shandong port-group with Qingdao Port as the hub and others such
as Longkou port, Weihai port, Yantai port as subordinates, as well as the Tianjin and Hebei portgroup.
Different from port group I and II, port group III has two hubs, i.e., the container terminal hub of Tianjin
Port with others such as Qinhuangdao port, Tangshan port, Cangzhou port (Huanghua port zone) as
subordinates, and the coal port hub of Qinhuangdao Port with others such as Tianjin port, Tangshan
port, Cangzhou port as ubordinates.