Mail and cargo flights between the Chinese coastal city of
Yantai, Shandong Province, and Seoul, South Korea, went into
operation on Tuesday, shortening delivery times between the two
cities by at least 12 hours.
A Boeing 737 aircraft of China Postal Airlines, specializing in
express mail services (EMS) and cargo transport, took off from
Yantai International Airport at 11 a.m. and landed in Seoul 70
minutes later, airline sources said.
It is the first cargo flight service between South Korea and
Shandong, its largest investment destination in China. South Korea
has invested about 20 billion US dollars in the eastern province
through 2007, accounting for 27 percent of its China
investment.
The new route boosts economic exchange between Shandong and
South Korea and gives China Postal a better footing in the
international market, according to the China Postal Airlines
source.
Currently, there are 18,000 companies that have been directly
invested by South Korean businesses in Shandong, half of the total
in China.
China Postal Airlines will fly from Yantai to Seoul five times
weekly, according to company sources. Express mail from the
province can arrive at Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon in South Korea
the next day and in other cities a day after that.
Shanghai-based China Postal Airlines, a 51/49 percent joint
venture between China's State Post Bureau and China Southern
Airlines, boasts a fleet of 13 aircraft and operates 30 flights to
a dozen domestic cities. The company's delivery network covers more
than 300 Chinese cities.
In line with its commitments to the World Trade Organization,
China has fully opened its express delivery market. International
delivery companies such as DHL, TNT and UPS are now competing in
China.
(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2008)
