No port? No problem: How landlocked Henan exports goods to the world

No port? No problem: How landlocked Henan exports goods to the world

A pilot programme with Shandong is helping Henan cut export costs and reach global markets faster.

Henan province, often described as the cradle of Chinese civilisation, sits at the heart of China.

But as a landlocked region with no seaport of its own, it faces a fundamental challenge: getting its goods to global markets.

The nearest major port is some 290km away, making exports complicated and costly for local manufacturers producing everything from tyres to electric vehicle components and mobile phones.

STREAMLINING EXPORT PROCESS

Traditionally, goods moved through multiple steps – they were trucked out, unloaded, stored, inspected and repacked into shipping containers before export.

Each stage added time and cost.

Now, a pilot programme linking Henan with its eastern neighbour province of Shandong is aiming to change that.

Manufacturers can load goods directly into shipping containers at their factories.

These containers are then sent to an inland port within Henan, where customs inspections are carried out.

Once cleared, they are sealed and transported by rail to major ports along Shandong’s coast, including the port city of Qingdao.

When the containers arrive, they are transferred straight from train to ship, without being unloaded and reopened for further checks.

The goods are then shipped to the rest of the world.

Officials say the system relies on closer coordination between agencies and across provincial boundaries.

This gives inland manufacturers more direct access to export markets, while cutting logistics costs by about 10 per cent.

SHANGHAI SET THE PACE

Efforts like the Henan pilot build on a much longer push to strengthen logistics and shipping infrastructure along China’s coast.

In Shanghai, for example, the West Bund was once a busy cargo hub on the Huangpu River.

Now a riverside public space, the giant orange cranes that remain are an iconic reminder of that industrial past.

At the turn of the millennium, China’s 10th Five-Year Plan called for stronger container systems at major ports and set out an ambition to turn Shanghai into an international shipping centre.

That led to the development of the Yangshan deep-water port, located more than 30km offshore, where large vessels can berth and manoeuvre without the limitations of inner-city waterways.

Today, Shanghai has held its position as the world’s busiest container port for 16 consecutive years.

Shanghai’s ports have helped China sustain its export boom at scale by moving raw materials in and finished goods out more efficiently.

Projects like the Henan pilot show how that same logistics push is now extending inland – linking factories directly to global markets with fewer delays and lower costs.

As external demand remains uncertain amid mounting geopolitical challenges, improving how goods move may prove just as critical as what China produces.