Officials say China-US tariff battle not a deterrent to increased imports and more records are expected to be set in the remaining three months of the year as international trade remains resilient.

Despite a smaller number of carriers operating in the market, the number of container services between countries has increased. But consolidation has also brought about its own concerns, particularly for port and terminal operators.

Cosco Shipping Ports (CSP) saw overall throughput rise 12% in August to 8.7m teu from 7.7m teu previously led by good gains in the northern ports, with the Bohai Rim region growing 22% to 1.8m teu.