China saw an increase in freight traffic in the first half of the year, which includes growth in air freight, road, and shipping volumes.

State media said China's freight volume rose 6.8% year on year to 25.93 billion tonnes in the January to June period.

Citing data from the Ministry of Transport, Xinhua said in the first half of the year, about 19.01 billion tonnes of road cargo were transported in the country, which represents a 7.5% increase from the same period last year.

Some 3.28 million tonnes of cargo were also transported via planes — for an increase of 6.4% year on year in the first six months of 2023.

It added that from January to June, China's port throughput also expanded by 8% year-on-year to 8.19 billion tonnes.

Xinhua said the container throughput reached 150 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the period, up 4.8% higher than during the same six months period last year.