Ports of Call Where Ties Run Deep
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Beneath rows of towering ship-to-shore cranes at the Port of Los Angeles, containers rise from massive vessels and move toward trucks and rail lines that fan out across the United States.
Covering more than 74,100 acres along 43.5 miles of waterfront, the port handled 10.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in 2025, its third-busiest year on record. It has remained the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere for about a quarter century, and its strong cargo run has continued this year.
But the significance of the port extends beyond cargo volume. For decades, Los Angeles has served as a major physical link between China and the U.S., connecting Asian manufacturing and ports with American retailers, manufacturers and consumers. More recently, those ties have expanded into cleaner shipping, port technology, digitalization and supply-chain resilience.
That relationship was again in focus during the summit between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump in late September.
For Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Eugene Seroka, the current moment recalls an earlier chapter in bilateral ties.
Xi, then China’s vice-president, visited the Port of Los Angeles in February 2012 and toured the China Shipping Group terminal with then-California governor Jerry Brown and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
“When President Xi visited the Port of L.A. as China’s vice-president in 2012, it underscored the importance of the trade relationship between China and the U.S. and the role Los Angeles plays in connecting our two economies,” Seroka said.
“That relationship continues today. China remains an extremely important trading partner for the Port of L.A., and our longstanding relationships with Chinese ports have also created opportunities to work together beyond cargo movement,” he said.
China was the port’s largest trading partner by cargo value in 2025, accounting for about $82 billion, followed by Vietnam at $48 billion and Japan at $45 billion.
Seroka said China’s share of the port’s business portfolio has declined from roughly 60% in 2018 to about 40% today, as sourcing from other Asian economies has expanded.
At neighboring Long Beach, a similar pattern is visible. Noel Hacegaba, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, said China remains a major trading partner even as companies broaden sourcing across Asia.
“In 2019, cargo tied to China accounted for about 70% of our imports and exports. Today that’s down to 60%,” Hacegaba said.
Even as tariff uncertainty has accelerated supply-chain diversification, many companies continue to maintain longstanding commercial ties with China.
Asked whether California manufacturers were moving production away from China or mainly broadening sourcing while retaining Chinese suppliers, Lance Hastings, president and CEO of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, said the latter was more accurate.
“It’s really assessing the global profile that we face right now,” Hastings said, suggesting that manufacturers are diversifying while continuing to maintain established relationships with Chinese suppliers as part of their long-term sourcing strategies.
Brian Dodge, president and CEO of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said that businesses hope for predictability and stability in the China-U.S. relationship, particularly on tariffs and trade policy.
He said sudden changes in trade policy make it difficult for companies to make long-term plans without affecting prices or the consumer experience, and that businesses expect the China-U.S. summit provide “a clearer picture of what the long-term relationship will be” and create more room for cooperation.
Retailers brought some merchandise into the U.S. earlier this year amid uncertainty over tariffs, fuel costs and other supply-chain pressures, helping produce the record summer at Los Angeles. Such short-term adjustments are supported in part by longstanding sourcing relationships with China, which remains the port’s largest trading partner, according to Seroka.
Seroka said continued dialogue between the U.S. and China matters throughout the supply chain.
Agricultural trade offers another example of the economic relationship.
For U.S. farmers, China remains one of the world’s largest markets, while Beijing has increasingly sourced soybeans from Brazil and Argentina during periods of trade tension. Those shifts show how commercial relationships can be difficult to rebuild once buyers establish alternative suppliers.
“For these two largest economies to work together is, I think, a global necessity,” Seroka said.
Cooperation between U.S. and Chinese ports has meanwhile extended beyond traditional cargo movement.
One of the clearest examples is the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor. Launched in 2022, it brings together the three ports, shipping lines, cargo owners and C40 Cities to reduce emissions and advance low- and zero-carbon technologies along a major trans-Pacific trade route.
The corridor has moved from planning to implementation. By January, Seroka said, all Phase 1 objectives had been completed, including expanded use of shoreside electricity, introduction of cleaner vessel technologies and groundwork for future lower-carbon marine fuel bunkering.
“The green shipping corridor is gaining momentum, and our partnership will only get stronger,” Seroka said.
The corridor links Shanghai, the world’s busiest container port, with the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, North America’s busiest container gateway. The trade lane carries more than $300 billion in two-way goods annually.
Seroka said the cooperation is broadening.
“We’re already working with ports including Shanghai and Guangzhou. More recently, we expanded our collaboration with Shenzhen.
“These port-to-port relationships demonstrate how practical cooperation can produce benefits on both sides of the Pacific,” he said.
The broader value of international trade was also a focus at the centennial celebration of World Trade Week in Los Angeles in May.
Peter Tirschwell, who has held senior roles covering maritime trade, said trade creates economic opportunity even as tariffs, geopolitical rivalry and supply-chain disruptions reshape global commerce.
“We believe firmly in the value of trade to expand markets, create opportunities, create interdependencies and thus bring countries and societies together,” Tirschwell said.
