The first cargo flight route from Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, to Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, started operating on May 28.

Guizhou's first cargo flight route to Pakistan starts operating. [Photo/WeChat account of Zhizhi Guiyang]

The cargo flight is scheduled to operate three times a week, carrying goods such as hardware accessories, clothing materials, and electronic components. More products made in Guizhou will be directly exported to Pakistan via the route, while high-quality fresh products from Pakistan such as lobsters and crabs will be imported into Guizhou.

In 2023, the trade value between Guiyang and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was about 30 billion yuan ($4.14 billion), accounting for 50 percent of the city's total import and export value.

As Guizhou's first BRI international cargo route, the Guiyang-Karachi route will enable Guizhou enterprises to expand their BRI markets and help Guiyang City and Gui'an New Area to become an international freight hub in Southwest China.

The new route is also the third international cargo route established after the Guiyang-Kolkata and Guiyang-Delhi routes, further improving the flight route network of Guiyang's aviation port and offering an international air cargo channel that facilitates Guiyang and Gui'an's opening-up to South Asia as well as BRI countries, which are important trade partners for Guiyang.