www.chinaports.com and Shanghai Maritime University gathered dozens of scholars and experts in shipping industry to study and rank the comprehensive competitiveness of over 3000 global ports from the key sub-dimensions. Meanwhile, the comprehensive competitiveness of key ports in the Belt and Road has been tracked and probed. The study lasted for one year and many sub-dimensions evaluation of competitiveness are proposed for the first time in the world. Based on big data, management methods and expertise in maritime logistics industry, the study explores ports that have strategic position around the world. The Global Port Competitiveness Ranking from Jan. 2017 to Jun. 2018 and the Port Competitiveness Ranking in the Belt and Road from Jan. 2017 to Jun. 2018 will be published jointly by www.chinaports.com, China Economic and Domestic mainstream media, and Shanghai Maritime University in bilingual mode in the near future. The sets of ranking will be updated in real time every month. The research results can provide a basis for international shipping development decision under the Belt and Road Initiative, and have reference value for scientifically examining the development of global ports.
On March 28th, 2015, the State Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued "the Vision and Action for Promoting the Co-construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Marine Silk Road in the 21st Century", proposing: "Strengthening construction of the ports of Shanghai, Tianjin, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Shantou, Qingdao, Yantai, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Haikou, Sanya and other coastal cities." The document says it is also necessary to "give full play to the unique advantages of Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Region" and "make proper arrangements for Taiwan's participation in the construction of 'belt and road '".On February 18th, 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Outline of the Development Planning for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In view of the background of the government's policy planning and support, we have selected the following candidate ports in China as important ports in the Belt and Road: Shanghai, Tianjin, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhanjiang, Shantou, Qingdao, Yantai, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Haikou, Sanya, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China. Ranking of other important ports in China, such as Zhuhai port, could be seen in www.chinaport.com for the rankings of global ports from perspective of “Busyness Degree", "Accessibility" and "Network-node Centrality".
From the analysis of Ports’ network-node centrality of important ports along the Belt and Road in August 2018, it can be seen among the top 20 ports, Singapore, Shanghai, Ningbo-zhoushan, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tianjin, Tanjung Pelepas, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Jebel Ali are located in Asia; Rotterdam, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Hamburg, London, Algeciras, St.Petersburg, Marseilles, Southampton are located in Europe; Durban is located in Africa. Among them, there are 7 ports in China. Chinese ports take up a relatively high proportion in the ranking. The proportion is 35%.
| NO. | Port Name | Country | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | Singapore | Asia |
| 2 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Europe |
| 3 | Shanghai | China | Asia |
| 4 | Antwerp | Belgium | Europe |
| 5 | Ningbo-zhoushan | China | Asia |
| 6 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Europe |
| 7 | Hamburg | Germany | Europe |
| 8 | Guangzhou | China | Asia |
| 9 | London | UK | Europe |
| 10 | Algeciras | Spain | Europe |
| 11 | Kaohsiung | China | Asia |
| 12 | St.Petersburg | Russia | Europe |
| 13 | Marseilles | France | Europe |
| 14 | Tianjin | China | Asia |
| 15 | Tan jung Pelepas | Malaysia | Asia |
| 16 | Shenzhen | China | Asia |
| 17 | Durban | South Africa | Africa |
| 18 | Southampton | UK | Europe |
| 19 | Qingdao | China | Asia |
| 20 | Jebel Ali | United Arab Emirates | Asia |
Ports’ network-node centrality: The index describes the frequency one port appears at the shortest path between any other two ports while it acts as a global maritime network node. That is, when considering the shortest path between the departure port and the destination port, the frequency of connecting to the port is chosen. The larger the value, the higher the frequency that the port node may be selected as transit in the shortest route, the more important the network-node in the global maritime network.
This assessment does not separately evaluate “Network-node Centrality” of the container port, but comprehensively takes into account transportation routes of all the cargo types in the port. Therefore, “Network-node Centrality” of professional container ports would be affected by the lack of transportation routes for other types of goods.
