Investigation finds China’s top ports have been ripping off shipping lines for years

© Xuejingwen

Who would have thunk it? That state-owned ports restrict competition and abuse market position to price-gouge customers? But the interesting aspect, as this report from Splash247 shows, is that the government has decided they aren’t going to let them get away with it, following a ruling handed down by China’s National Development and Reform Committee, which ordered ports such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Ningbo and Qingdao to open up their towage services markets and reduce container handling fees by 10-20%.