GETTING WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER

Chinas bulk and break-bulk handling facilities differ significantly from its container facilities in one crucial respect: with the countrys entrance to the WTO, its container terminals – both planned and existing – were deemed not to be of strategic national importance, thus paving the way for the introduction of foreign and private capital and management. The same policy was not applied to its bulk ports and terminals however, and they remain largely under the ownership of the state. Gavin van Marle reports.