The "Oriental Chennai" ship berthed at the container terminal of Dalian Port (photo taken on July 18, drone photo). Published by Xinhua Agency

Xinhua Agency, Beijing, July 27 Title: Going to the sky and entering the sea-China and Latin America build a three-dimensional transportation and logistics network

Xinhua Agency reporters Chen Yuzheng, Zhang Yuanpei, Zhang Boqun

In mid-May, the first direct flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City operated by China Southern Airlines was opened. The plane flew for about 16 hours and spanned more than 14000 kilometers, reaching Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City; In mid-July, the first ship of the Dalian Port's direct container route to Mexico, the "Oriental Chennai", departed from the Dalian Port Container Terminal and is expected to arrive at the Port of Ensenada, Mexico on August 11.

In the first half of this year, a number of transportation routes covering air and sea transportation were opened and resumed between China and Latin America and the Caribbean. A three-dimensional transportation and logistics network between China and Latin America was gradually built, providing continuous and close personnel exchanges between the two emerging markets. Economic and trade exchanges provide a richer, efficient and convenient channel.

In the early morning of July 13, a Beijing-Tijuana-Mexico City flight operated by China Hainan Airlines passed through Watergate at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. Published by Xinhua Agency (Photo by Francisco Canedo)

According to Mexican Tourism Minister Miguel Toruco, the opening and resumption of direct passenger routes are of great significance to promoting the development of tourism in Mexico and China. They can promote connectivity and drive passenger flow between the two countries and even the Asia-Pacific region. "China is our important tourist source market. The arrival of Chinese tourists will create more job opportunities for Mexico and increase people's income and wealth."

"Opening direct flights is an important measure for China Southern Airlines to actively respond to and serve the economic and trade development and personnel exchange needs of China and Latin America." Yuan Jintao, general manager of China Southern Airlines Shenzhen Branch, said. According to reports, China Southern Airlines has signed cooperation agreements with airlines such as Aeromexico. Through connecting flights, the route not only reaches major cities in Mexico, but also radiates to cities in more South American countries.

In July this year, the Beijing-Tijuana-Mexico City international route operated by Hainan Airlines was officially opened, with a total flight time of about 15 hours. Also targeting cities in Latin American countries, the Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo route and the Beijing-Madrid-Havana route operated by Air China have also resumed flights in the first half of the year, facilitating the growing demand for personnel exchanges between China and Latin America.

His eyes turned to the sea. The "Oriental Chennai" ship is loaded with deeply processed grain products, auto parts, machinery and equipment produced in Northeast China and goes directly to Mexico. The entire voyage time is expected to be 22 days, saving more than 10 days of transportation time compared with previous transit routes.

The "Oriental Chennai" ship berthed at the container terminal of Dalian Port (photo taken on July 18, drone photo). Published by Xinhua Agency

"This has established a stable and convenient new maritime logistics channel between Northeast China and Latin America." Li Xiaoguang, general manager of Dalian Container Terminal Co., Ltd., said that the opening of the new route has effectively met the needs of hinterland enterprises to expand maritime transportation capacity and space in emerging markets in Latin America.

A number of direct Chinese maritime cargo routes to Latin America and the Caribbean have been opened one after another, promoting the continuous renewal of the trans-Pacific container trade pattern.

In January, the "Dalian Port-West South America" container ocean route was opened for operation, connecting major ports in Colombia, Ecuador and other countries, and the transportation time was shortened from at least 32 days to 25 days; In June, Nicaragua and China opened the first direct shipping route. Cargo ships carrying engineering equipment and machinery directly to the Port of Corinto, and will be put into the reconstruction and expansion project of Puntavete International Airport in Nicaragua involving Chinese companies...

Yang Jimin, assistant general manager of the customer sales department of Dalian COSCO Shipping Container Transportation Co., Ltd., told reporters that as of now, COSCO Shipping Container Transportation has opened 9 direct routes connecting important ports in China and Latin America. The radiation range basically covers the entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean, and has been put into use. With 14,000 TEUs of Latin American extreme high-cold plug-in ships, the regional transportation network in Latin America continues to be enriched.

Industry insiders believe that the continuous increase in transportation routes between China and Latin America is mainly due to the steady growth of bilateral trade between China and Latin America. Data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that in the first half of 2024, the total import and export volume between China and Latin America and the Caribbean was 1.79 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.

Ships carrying Chinese industrial products to Latin America bring back fresh fruits, white shrimp, beef and other fresh products.

The "Oriental Chennai" ship berthed at the container terminal of Dalian Port (photo taken on July 18, drone photo). Published by Xinhua Agency

In the past two years, a number of "Cherry Express Lines" directly connected to Chile have been put into operation in China's Dalian Port, Tianjin Port and other places. Through direct contracting, cherries tens of thousands of kilometers away have been transported directly to China. At the same time, a number of direct air cargo routes connecting China and Latin America have been opened one after another, covering Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Hefei, Wuxi and other cities in China, providing more efficient and convenient channels for bringing Latin American fresh products to the Chinese market.

"As the cross-border logistics and transportation system becomes increasingly perfect, transportation times and voyages become more stable, and the cold chain collection and distribution system becomes more efficient. More and more fresh and high-quality Latin American fruits such as Chilean cherries, Ecuadorian bananas, and Mexican avocados can be found on the table of Chinese consumers." said Jiang Jianli, director of logistics of Jianong Food Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd., which focuses on fresh food supply chain services.

At present, China has signed cooperation documents with 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. China and Latin America continue to strengthen policy communication, promote cooperation between the two sides in infrastructure construction, investment and other fields, promote the further upgrading of passenger airports, logistics and warehousing and other infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean, and improve the quality and efficiency of China-Latin America's transportation, logistics and transportation. (Participating in the interview and writing: Xu Sihai, Wu Meng, Guo Xiang)