Shanghai is reinforcing its status as China’s busiest international gateway, with customs statistics released on 10 March showing double-digit growth across sea, air and passenger channels in the first two months of 2026. The city handled 7,281 ocean-going vessels (-up 2.4 percent year-on-year) and 41,000 international flights (-up 1.2 percent), while overall traveller throughput reached 6.92 million, a 1.5 percent increase despite the Middle-East turmoil. International assignees puzzled by shifting entry requirements can streamline their paperwork long before departure thanks to VisaHQ, which offers online visa and passport processing for China and over 200 other destinations (https://www.visahq.com/china/), giving mobility teams a single dashboard to track every application and avoid last-minute surprises. To cope, Shanghai Customs has accelerated “smart port” upgrades. At Yangshan Port, a blockchain-enabled tri-ledger system now links customs, terminal inventory and third-party logistics data, allowing green-methanol bunkering operations to clear in near real time. On 5 March a CMA CGM vessel received a record 3,643 tonnes of domestically produced green methanol without delaying departure schedules. Pudong Airport meanwhile has opened 24-hour “no-escort” cargo inspections and appointment-based passenger bag checks, coupled with self-service foreign-currency refund kiosks. Italian cargo airline MSC Air Cargo launched its inaugural Milan–Shanghai freighter on 3 March, underlining renewed cargo confidence. For mobility teams the figures signal that post-pandemic capacity constraints are easing, but also that immigration lines could lengthen during peak expo months. Relocation providers recommend booking early-morning arrival slots where e-gates have lower utilisation and reminding assignees to have QR-code customs declarations completed before landing.
