[5] Shanghai is one of only four port-cities in the world to be categorised as a large-port Megacity, due to its high volumes of port traffic and large urban population.

The economic policy of the People's Republic had a crippling effect on Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development.

The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to Singapore, towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.

[8][9][10][11] The port of Shanghai includes three major working zones: The Port of Shanghai is a critically important transport hub for the Yangtze River region and the most important gateway for foreign trade.

It serves the Yangtze economically developed hinterland of Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Henan provinces with its dense population, strong industrial base and developed agricultural sector.