Which method of transporting goods from China to choose. Delivery options for cargo to China and export of cargo from it

The economy of China is the leading economy in the world. While in nominal terms China's gross domestic product still lags behind that of the USA, in terms of purchasing power it has already surpassed the GDP of the United States. China imports raw materials in huge volumes and exports its goods abroad on an equally gigantic scale. The volumes of international trade in China and the related transportation are astonishing.

China's infrastructure for cargo transportation

The gigantic growth of the Chinese economy has led to equally gigantic changes in the country's transport infrastructure. Until the early 1980s, China had relatively weak transport development, but now it is one of the leading transport powers. Airports, railways, and highways are being modernized and built at an impressive speed.

China shares land borders with North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. Important transport routes run through most of these borders, but of course, the main delivery of cargo is carried out by sea.

The state of China's road infrastructure

Like everything in China, the volumes and speed of modernization and construction of roads are astonishing. The total length of China's roads approaches 4.5 million km. China's roads are classified into classes: highest and 1, 2, 3, and 4. The construction of highways, which belong to the highest category of roads, is progressing rapidly. In some years, more than 8,000 km of such roads are built. New Chinese roads are of the highest quality.

In the outskirts of the country, but not in coastal areas, one can find roads of medium and low quality, but the majority of roads are good. Some Chinese roads are toll roads. This primarily applies to new highways. However, gradually these roads are also becoming free. For example, in 2017, tolls were abolished on highways with a total length of 15,245 km.

China's aviation infrastructure

The fastest but most expensive mode of transport—aviation in China is also developing at a rapid pace. The country has about 500 airports, 400 of which have paved runways. The most popular and busiest airports in China are located in the following cities:

• Beijing.
• Guangzhou.
• Shenzhen.
• Tianjin.
• Xiamen.
• Lhasa.
• Nanjing.
• Qingdao.
• Guilin.
• Yichang.
• Xian.
• Hangzhou.
• Kunming.
• Chongqing.
• Dalian.
• Chengdu.
• Shanghai. The city has 2 major airports.
• Yangzhou.
• Hong Kong.

Chinese water transport

There are over 2,000 ports in the territory of the PRC. 130 of them accept foreign vessels. Let’s list only the main ports of China, which include:

• Shanghai.
• Hong Kong.
• Shenzhen.
• Guangzhou.
• Ningbo.
• Qingdao.
• Tianjin.
• Fuzhou.
• Dalian.
• Qinhuangdao.
• Shantou.
• Wenzhou.

Another 140,000 km of waterways in China run through canals, lakes, and rivers. More than a trillion tons of cargo are transported along them annually.

Chinese railway transport

In terms of the length of railway tracks, China is second only to the USA. The total length of China's railways is 112,000 km. Railway communication is present throughout China. It is only absent in the special administrative region of Macau. The gauge of Chinese railways is 1435 mm. This is the same gauge used in the USA and most European countries. The gauge in the CIS countries is wider, and when delivering cargo to China by rail, transshipment is required along the way.

Export goods of China

It is perhaps easier to list which goods China does not sell on the foreign market. The PRC practically does not sell, but rather purchases raw materials on a gigantic scale. Everything from consumer goods to high-tech products of various purposes is exported.