Container throughput at China’s ports reached a record monthly high of 12.4m TEU in May, up 21.9 per cent year-on year, according to Alphaliner, the Paris-based container shipping consultancy.

Six of the top 10 ports posted record volumes, headed by Ningbo which reported a 52 per cent increase to 1.23m TEU. The other ports were Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen and Dalian.

China’s exports rose 48.5 per cent in May from a year ago and imports were up 48.3 per cent, according to Chinese Customs. These figures reflect orders booked before the onset of Europe’s debt crisis and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce warned that the crisis would likely impact future exports to the EU.