China's air freight sector took off in the first half (H1) of this year, with the country launching 90 new routes, including over 70 international connections to meet surging demand, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Sunday.
China launched 16 new domestic air freight routes and 74 international ones, including 39 linking countries and regions in Asia, 17 to Europe, 15 to North America, two to Africa and one to Oceania, according to H1 data.
"Due to geopolitical conflicts, many consignors have switched from ocean freight to air freight, which has driven up a strong demand for air freight. In general, with the same cargo volume, one to two percentage points of reduction in maritime transport will bring around 20-percent growth for air logistics," said Cui Zhongfu, deputy head of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
During the same period, China's civil air transport turnover was 70.3 billion tonne-kilometers, up 32.2 percent year on year, with domestic routes handling 47.04 billion tonne-kilometers, up 16 percent, and international routes completing 23.26 billion tonne-kilometers, up 84.1 percent year on year.
The country saw 26,700 scheduled cargo flights in H1, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent. It maintained regular cargo flights to 48 overseas air destinations in 42 countries, with Chinese airlines carrying out 8,784 such flights and foreign airlines completing 17,900 such flights.
"A sentiment that is prevalent in the air freight market is that the slow season is not slow at all. Both Chinese and foreign airlines are upbeat about the Chinese market. So currently we are seeing a sound growth momentum regarding scheduled cargo flights, but such a momentum is more obvious in terms of unscheduled cargo flights," said Shang Kejia, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Amid rising demands from deliveries of products in cross-border e-commerce as well as electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products, China implemented 3,300 international cargo charter flights in the first half of the year, up 9 percent year on year, and up 8.5 times from the number during the same period in 2019.
China boosts global reach with over 70 new int'l air freight routes in H1
China boosts global reach with over 70 new int'l air freight routes in H1
The ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) has attracted scores of new participants this year, with repeat participants also making their mark at the fair.
Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the trade fair, opened in China's capital city Beijing on Thursday and runs till Monday.
The CIFTIS is becoming more and more international, with a total of 36 Belt and Road partners showcasing their products.
Tharaka Dissanayake who works at the Sri Lankan Embassy in China has participated in the fair many times. He came to promote tea culture this time and believes that tea culture can better strengthen cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
"For any commodity, it's a huge market. Obviously, this is one of the greatest platforms close to the Chinese consumer, to introduce ourselves, introduce our products, whatever the services or innovation," said Abeysekara, third secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy in China.
An old friend of the fair was playing an African drum and the rhythmic sound attracted a large crowd.
"I'm here again. Many people took my WeChat and my contact, my number. So they called me, they ordered and they need more," said a Ghanaian exhibitor.
Dewi Avilia, Counselor for Social and Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in China, is also attending the exhibition for the second time. She emphasized the need to promote cultural tourism as recent policies have made it easy for more Indonesian friends to travel to China.
"Chengdu and Chongqing have become two of the most popular tourist destinations for Indonesia. A lot of people now are not only talking about Shanghai, but are also talking about Chengdu, visiting the pandas and also Chongqing, because of the landscape. I think it is a good start," said Avilia.
This year's fair has also attracted huge number of new participants showcasing quality products.
"This is my first time. It's a great opportunity that we are able to showcase our products and to let people know about Uganda and Ugandan culture," said Mukisa Joseph, a Ugandan exhibitor.
"The expectations about this fair is to meet many people in the coffee industry. So far we have had a lot of consumers who are interested in roasted coffee. I'm still expecting more," said Mutijima Emma, a Rwandan exhibitor.
An Uzbek exhibitor, who is also a newcomer, initially intended to use this platform to promote his goods, but unexpectedly met partners from many other countries and found potential business opportunities here.
"This is a good platform to see the different global products and see the Chinese market all together. I met so many different people, but I also met many foreign people who are interested in our products. So I call these kind of events more like a globalization event," said Asilbek Khonkhujaev, an Uzbek exhibitor.
The fair has attracted attendees from 85 countries and international organizations, with over 450 Fortune 500 enterprises and companies taking the lead in their respective industries.
Newcomers, old friends gather at CIFTIS to seek new opportunities
