At least nine Chinese container ports are expected to be part of the world's top hubs this year amid continued demand for shipping services.

A recent forecast by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported by state media said among the top 20 ports, the Shanghai port will have the most throughput capacity in 2022.

Xinhua said in a report that most of China's container ports hold growing demand for shipping services, including the Ningbo-Zhoushan port, as well as ports in Qingdao and Tianjin.

"China is expected to have nine of the world's top 20 container ports by the end of this year, according to a forecasting report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)," the state media said.

The report noted that the transportation quantity of containers is affected by many factors.

"Compared with regression analyses and econometric models, the researchers regarded the global ports as a whole system, taking into account the global economy, trade situations, and shipping industry development," Xinhua wrote, quoting Wang Shouyang, director of the CAS Center for Forecasting Science, which released the report.

Global container transport slowing down in 2022

Although the global container transport industry is slowing down in 2022, the report added that China's container transportation remains a "foundation for stable global development" as China remains the world's manufacturing centre.

In 2020, nine of the top 10 busiest port facilities were situated in Asia, with its ideal geographic location connecting major maritime trade routes.

The World Shipping Council said the top 10 busiest ports that year were: Shanghai port (China), Singapore port, Ningbo-Zhoushan (China), Shenzhen, (China), Guangzhou Harbor (China), Busan (South Korea), Qingdao (China), Hong Kong, S.A.R, and Rotterdam (The Netherlands).