TIANJIN, June 30 -- China's Tianjin Port handled over 9.12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first five months of this year, up 7.7 percent year-on-year, the port's operator said on Friday.

The port's cargo throughput totaled 231 million tonnes in the January-May period, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent, Chu Bin, chairman of Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd., told a press briefing.

The port has been among the world's 10 busiest ports in terms of cargo throughput for years.

Tianjin Port seeks to increase its annual container throughput to more than 27 million TEUs in 2027, Chu said. It currently has 144 container shipping routes.

Tianjin Port, located on the coast of the Bohai Sea, is a major shipping point in north China. It has trade links with over 500 ports in more than 180 countries and regions.