New air cargo route links aviation hub of southern Xinjiang, Georgia

A new air cargo route was launched on Saturday, linking Kashgar Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Georgia's capital Tbilisi.

The freighter landed in southern Xinjiang's Kashgar Laining International Airport on the day, carrying chilled Norwegian salmon, live French brown crabs and Tajik cherries.

The air cargo charter for the first time opened up a channel for Kashgar to import fresh seafood from Europe.

Aviation cold chain technology was used to ensure that brown crabs and salmon remained fresh. Advanced preservation technology was also used to preserve the cherries' nutrients and taste.

"The import of these goods will greatly enrich the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation and Kashgar's foreign trade. Next, we will add more routes. We plan to open at least four routes within this year," said Zhang Ating, chairman of Kashgar Trade and Logistics Group.

New air cargo route links aviation hub of southern Xinjiang, Georgia

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Sunday the country has discovered more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet (21.24 billion cubic meters) of gas reserves in a field in the southern Fars province.

Nearly 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas can be extracted from the field, considering a recovery factor of about 72 to 73 percent, Paknejad said in an interview with state-run IRIB TV.

"The newly-discovered resources add tens of billions of dollars to the intrinsic value of the country's wealth," he said, adding the field also contains a significant amount of gas condensate reserves.

Iran holds nearly 34 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves, according to data by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. After Russia, the country has the second-largest gas reserves in the world.

Iran discovers 7.5 tln cubic feet of gas in south: minister