BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's ports registered stable growth in cargo throughput last year despite the impact of COVID-19, data from the Ministry of Transport shows.

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 14, 2021 shows the container terminal of Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo: Xinhua)

In 2020, the cargo throughput at ports rose 4.3 percent year on year to 14.55 billion tonnes, according to the ministry.

Specifically, the foreign trade cargo throughput came in at 4.5 billion tonnes, up 4 percent year on year, and the cargo throughput for domestic trade climbed 4.4 percent from a year ago to 10.05 billion tonnes.

The country's container throughput at ports in 2020 stood at 260 million twenty-foot equivalent units, a yearly increase of 1.2 percent.