Huge cargo increases expected

China's ports project a 25% rise in cargo volume over five years because of expected increases in manufacturing and foreign trade, state media reported. By 2010, cargo through Chinese ports will rise to more than 5 billion tons, up from last year's 4.1 billion tons, Zhang Chunxian, minister of communications, told a shipping conference in Shanghai. Container throughput is expected to more than double by 2010.