Loaded with containers, “Huahang 3” departs for Taipei from Pingtan.

Container ship “Huahang 3” joined in Pingtan-Taipei ship route on Oct. 11. Together with the first freighter “Taipei Express”, the direct voyage has realized the operation of 6 days a week.

"Huahang 3" is owned by Taiwan's Wagon Group. So far, there are three ships shuttling between Pingtan and Taiwan, including two high-speed ferries “Rera” and “CSF”.

The 200 TEU "Taipei Express" operated three days a week in the past. However, it soon met with capacity shortage amid increasing freight demand at Pingtan Port.

At 664 TEU, "Huahang 3" is three times the capacity of "Taipei Express". As the largest container ship to dock at Pingtan Port, this recent addition has brought positive outlooks for cross-Straits trade.

It is hard to imagine that just three years ago, Pingtan Port did not receive much attention. Ships brought in imported goods with full loads while departed empty.

Huaxin Logistics Co, as a subsidiary of Wagon Group in Pingtan, often needed to fork out to transfer freight from all over the country to Pingtan, and then shipped them out.

The change occurred in November 2019, when Cainiao, a logistics arm of Alibaba Group took the initiative to seek cooperation. In less than a year, large quantities of goods from across the country have docked in Pingtan. During last year’s "Double Eleven" shopping frenzy, Pingtan Port ranked first in efficiency across the country.

And all this is due to an earnout. In March last year, Cainiao and Huaxin Logistics signed an agreement on transportation services to Taiwan. The "T+3" model was proposed. According to the model, upon leaving Pingtan, all parcels bound for Taiwan should have customs clearance cleared within three days.  

During the "Double Eleven" period last year, Huaxin Logistics took the initiative to change the "T+3" to the "T+2", which means that exports delivered to Taiwan should have customs clearance cleared within two days.

Chen Xiangquan, general manager of Huaxin Logistics, said: "This may not be possible at other ports. Pingtan Port assures us of shipping capacity and efficiency. "Since then, Huaxin Logistics has successively received partnership invitations from well-known companies such as JD.com and Pinduoduo.

“For a start, we gave Pingtan 10% of Cainiao’s marine transport business. But in just over a year, Pingtan has accounted for nearly 50% of the business volume in Fujian province.” said the relevant person in charge of Cainiao’s international supply chain. This is precisely the advantages of intensive, fast and stable voyages at Pingtan Port.

Pingtan, the closest place on the Chinese mainland to the island of Taiwan, has been designated as a pilot zone for cross-Straits integration on all fronts. In the field of international trading, Pingtan Port features “low cost by ship cum high efficiency by air” in the cross-Straits logistics channel.

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