BEIJING, Oct. 13 -- China's cargo and container throughput at ports registered steady expansion during the first eight months of this year, official data shows.

The country's cargo throughput at ports was 11.1 billion tonnes during the period, a year-on-year increase of 8.4 percent, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Specifically, foreign trade cargo throughput at the ports climbed 9.7 percent from the same period last year to 3.34 billion tonnes.

In the same period, container handling volume at China's ports came in at 203.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 4.8 percent higher than one year before.