Economic Watch: Airfreight boom drives new opening-up momentum in inland China

XI'AN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Xi'an, an ancient capital of China and the starting point of the historic Silk Road, is writing a new chapter in global trade as it strives to develop an airfreight-driven economy, with its international air cargo and mail volume doubling in the first four months of 2024.

From January to April, the inland metropolis handled 17,200 tonnes of cross-border shipments -- primarily e-commerce goods -- marking a 102.4 percent year-on-year increase.

The growth was driven by Xi'an's expanded Eurasian cargo network this year, with more cargo flights to Budapest and the launch of four new freight routes linking Tbilisi, Milan, Debrecen, and Madrid, thereby strengthening the city's connections with Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, according to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

In February, the airport's Terminal 5, a 705,500-square-meter "super terminal" larger than the combined area of the previous three terminals, officially opened, adding 115 aircraft parking stands while boosting the city's air logistics capacity.

Amid global economic uncertainties, China has continued to advance high-level openness. The country's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 1.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2025, demonstrating stable growth and strong resilience, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Xi'an's booming airfreight economy is part of China's broader opening-up drive, contributing to the country's overall trade expansion.

In the Airport New City (ANC) of Xixian New Area, where the airport is located, bonded warehouses are stocked with imported daily necessities and cosmetics as workers at a cross-border logistics company busily load orders for delivery.

"Compared with coastal cities like Hangzhou, Xi'an offers a cost advantage for air cargo to Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, with flight times shortened by around two hours," said Lan Yibo, the general manager of the company, adding that they have begun exporting Chinese-made light industrial products to Europe starting this year.

The airport's high customs clearance efficiency and convenience have attracted a growing number of businesses.

"By making prior reservations, companies can cut customs clearance times from three or four days to just seven hours," said Dang Liming, an official of the ANC.

Benefiting from the airport-oriented economy, the ANC now hosts 13 logistics parks and over 200 leading logistics firms.

The thriving air logistics has boosted the express delivery and cross-border e-commerce businesses.

Last year, the Xi'an airport handled over 7.3 million international express shipments, ranking second in China.

Located within the ANC, the northwest China regional hub of delivery giant YTO Express handled 1 billion parcels last year, up 33.3 percent year on year.

Shao Xing, a manager at the company, said the Xi'an regional hub has ranked among the top five nationwide in terms of scale.

"The company will launch a new Silk Road international port project by the end of next year, aiming to expand multimodal transport capabilities and enhance connectivity in Central Asia through integrated logistics networks," Shao said. Enditem