An aerial drone photo taken on Feb 2, 2024 shows container vessels berthing at a container terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. Tianjin Port, located on the coast of the Bohai Sea, is a major shipping point in north China. Photo:Xinhua
A new sea route from North China's Tianjin Municipality to the east coast of South America became operational on Monday, to facilitate trade between China and countries of the region with upgraded transport capacity.
China and South America have the longest sea route crossing the Pacific Ocean, and the new service will promote business and trade cooperation, experts noted.
The route will be operated by China COSCO Shipping Co (COSCO Shipping), connecting Tianjin port to various ports in South America including Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Itapoa and Navegantes in Brazil. It's the first sea route from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region launched in recent years, the China News Service reported on Monday.
COSCO Shipping will deploy12 vessels with capacity of 14,000 standard containers each to the route, with weekly departures. It will shorten the delivery time between Tianjin and Brazil from the previous 54 days to 40 days, and will also increase the loading capacity of cold chain containers.
The ships will carry soybeans, iron ore, coffee beans, cocoa, sugar and beef to China, and export daily necessities, chemicals, vehicles and parts, steel and furniture to South America.
Jiang Shixue, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Monday that China has close business ties with multiple South American countries but the growth may be capped by delivery times, and the new route will upgrade the transport capacity.
China has been Brazil's largest trade partner for 15 consecutive years, and Brazil is also China's largest trade partner in Latin America and direct investment destination.
In the first quarter of 2024, bilateral trade hit $45.34 billion, up by 24.3 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
On January 4, Dalian port in Northeast China's Liaoning Province launched the port's first routes to South America, which shortened the transport time of 32 days between Dalian and Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador to 25 days.
天津港于2024年5月6日启用了一条新的海上航线，连接中国与南美洲东海岸，以提升运输能力并促进两地贸易往来。中国远洋运输集团有限公司（中远海运）将运营这条航线，连接天津港与巴西的里约热内卢、圣保罗港、伊塔波阿港和纳维甘特斯港等多个南美港口。该航线的开通缩短了天津至巴西的运输时间，从之前的54天减少到40天，并且增加了冷链集装箱的装载能力。
这条航线的开通将为中南美两地之间的贸易往来提供更为便捷和高效的运输服务。中国与南美洲之间的贸易关系十分紧密，而之前较长的交货时间一直是制约贸易增长的因素。新航线的投入使用将有效提升运输能力，促进贸易合作。
中国与巴西之间一直保持着紧密的贸易往来，两国贸易额连续15年居高不下。在2024年第一季度，双边贸易额达到453.4亿美元，同比增长24.3%。此外，中国对南美洲的出口品种主要包括大豆、铁矿石、咖啡豆、可可、糖和牛肉等，而从南美洲进口的商品则涵盖日用品、化工品、汽车及零部件、钢铁和家具等。
此前，中国东北的大连港于2024年1月4日开通了首条通往南美洲的航线，将大连与墨西哥、哥伦比亚和厄瓜多尔之间的运输时间从32天缩短到了25天。
