BEIJING — Cargo and container throughput at China's ports registered stable growth in 2021, data from the Ministry of Transport shows.

Last year, cargo throughput at China's ports totaled 15.55 billion metric tons, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.

The country's container throughput at ports during the period climbed 7 percent from a year earlier to 282.72 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the ministry said.

In December 2021, China's ports handled nearly 1.34 billion tons of cargo, while container throughput stood at 23.07 million TEUs, according to the ministry.

China has adopted multiple measures to cope with the container shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such as shipping empty containers back to domestic ports, accelerating the production of containers and promoting digital transformation of ports for smooth flow of cargo.

The country's total goods imports and exports expanded 21.4 percent year-on-year to 39.1 trillion yuan ($6.14 trillion) in 2021.