The world’s largest bulk cargo port company has been created in Hebei province in northern China, according to a report by Xinhua. Hebei Port Group is made up of the ports of Qinhuangdao, Caofeidian and Huangye. Their combined throughput was 281m tons in 2008, the largest volume in the world, said Xu Zuyuan, Vice Minister of Transport. The group has Rmb18bn-worth of assets and 17,000 employees.

The establishment of the group was planned by the provincial government, which aims to optimise cooperation between the ports in Hebei. It will also strive to diversify the goods being transported, currently dominated by coal, and promote the development of container shipping.