Yangtze River Critical to Regional Economy

According to the 2010 Report of Shipping Development on the Yangtze River by the Ministry of Transport, more than 1.5 billion tons of cargo was transported through the main waterway of the Yangtze last year, the largest volume in one year on any river in the world. The figure is three times that of the Mississippi and five fold the volume of the Rhine. Navigation on this cardinal artery contributes RMB 120 billion directly to the region's economy, and ripple-effect benefits may reach RMB 2 trillion. The river shipping sector employs as many as two million people, and businesses built around it create over 10 million more jobs. At present the main body of the Yangtze transports 80 percent of the iron ore and 83 percent of the coal used in power plants along its course.