Activity at Chinese ports has rebounded since U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks and put off imposing massive tariffs on each other’s exports. That’s true, also, of inland ports along China’s mighty Yangtze River.
The Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nearest sea port, serves as a critical element of a land-sea trading corridor and part of China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative connecting with countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. About 20 trains leave every day, some for Russia and others toward Europe via Central Asia.
Top exports include electronics, machinery and electric vehicles, including sedans assembled at Avatr Technology’s factory in Chongqing, long a major river port and industrial center. Imports include auto parts, luxury goods and medical equipment.
Some 900 kilometers (560 miles) downriver from Chongqing, the Yangluo port is another major distribution center connecting China’s eastern seaboard with its vast inland regions. In 2024, it handled 2 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), but in April activity nearly stopped as trade was disrupted by the tariffs as Trump escalated his trade war.
It resumed from mid-May, after the China and the U.S. agreed to step back and talk rather than to escalate trade tensions further.
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