New air cargo route opens to Moscow

A cargo plane filled with 32 metric tons of general merchandise, mechanical and electrical equipment and accessories departed from Harbin Taiping International Airport for Moscow, Russia, at 9:50 pm on Monday.

The flight marked the official launch of a new cargo-only route from Harbin to Russia, the Harbin bureau of commerce announced.

With a cargo capacity of 35 tons each, a total of five flights will be conducted weekly, the bureau said. The route is expected to complete 150 flights by year's end, which will meet the transportation needs of various types of goods under different trade modes including cross-border e-commerce and general trade.

As of the end of 2020, a total of 750 cargo flights with a cargo volume of 16,888 tons had gone from Harbin to different cities in Russia. The first flight, from Harbin to Yekaterinburg, was in November 2013.

The opening of the route is seen as an important measure as the Harbin city government seeks to build Sino-Russian trade cooperation.