BEIJING -- China has been improving container terminal automation to build smart ports, and had established nine automated container terminals by 2020, with seven under construction.

The country's container throughput at ports stood at 260 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2020, a yearly increase of 1.2 percent, the Ministry of Transport said in a report.

Cargo throughput at ports rose 4.3 percent year on year to 14.55 billion tonnes in 2020, it said.

The size of China's maritime fleet continues to grow. By the end of 2020, it had a capacity of 310 million deadweight tons, ranking second globally.