China's aviation cargo sector achieved a historic breakthrough in 2025, surpassing 10 million tons in freight volume for the first time while adding 214 new international cargo routes, a report said on Wednesday.
According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the 2025 national new cargo route analysis report showed that the volume of cargo and mail transported by the country's civil aviation industry reached 10.172 million tonnes last year, up 13.3 percent year on year, marking the first time the figure has crossed the 10-million-tonne threshold. International routes emerged as the core growth engine driving this expansion.
The hub transportation became increasingly prominent, with simultaneous upgrades on the capacity side. China's registered all-cargo aircraft fleet reached 272, a net increase of 26 for the year. Long-range wide-body cargo aircraft increased to 60, accounting for 22 percent of the fleet and making them as the mainstay of intercontinental trunk routes, said the report.
A total of 214 new international cargo routes were launched in 2025, with the network now spanning six continents, reflecting strong global expansion, according to the report.
China's major economic regions served as the primary departure points for the new routes. The areas of east China, central China and south China accounted for more than 68 percent of the newly launched international routes, becoming the backbone of China's global air cargo network alongside both established and emerging aviation hubs, the report showed.
In terms of cargo composition, cross-border e-commerce, 3C electronic products (computers, communications and consumer electronics), apparel and textiles remained the primary goods transported. Meanwhile, fresh produce under cold-chain logistics, machinery and auto parts, and precision instruments generated steadily growing demands, said the report.
China opens 214 new int'l air cargo routes in 2025: report
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday called on Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to remove restrictions on travel by mainland residents to Taiwan at an early date.
At a press briefing in Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, slammed the DPP's political manipulation in response to the Taiwan authorities' decision to reject applications from tourism operators in Shanghai Municipality and Fujian Province to conduct preparatory visits to Taiwan. The decision has drawn criticism from tourism operators and industry groups on the island.
"Promoting the resumption of travel by residents of Shanghai and Fujian to Taiwan is a positive step that aligns with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and will help promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. Preparatory visits are a routine industry practice to coordinate accommodation, tourist sites and reception arrangements, which are purely private, business-related exchange. However, the DPP authorities unilaterally demanded prior consultations through tourism bodies as a prerequisite and rejected the applications for preparatory visits to the island," Zhu said.
"Such a move is typical political manipulation and the creation of artificial barriers. The industry's call for less political manipulation and prioritizing tourism fully reflects the industry's dissatisfaction and opposition to the DPP authorities' deliberate politicization of cross-strait tourism and their disregard for the survival difficulties of tourism operators on the island and the livelihood demands of ordinary people," she said.
"We have upheld the vision that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family, promoted the resumption of travel by mainland residents to Taiwan and continued to extend goodwill. Since 2024, travel by residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Kinmen and Matsu has been restored," said the spokeswoman.
"If the DPP authorities truly care about the livelihoods of those in the tourism sector, they should lift the restrictions on mainland residents traveling to Taiwan at an early date," Zhu said.
Chinese mainland urges DPP authorities to lift travel restrictions on mainland residents
