Shipping firms open 1st container route to Russia

Chinese shipping companies recently opened their first China-Russia container route, shipping more than 100 containers filled with consumer goods, computer components and ironware products from East China's Ningbo port to Russia's Vostochny port.

Container ships on the route run on a weekly basis and depart from the Ningbo port every Thursday. After arriving at the Vostochny port, their cargoes will be unloaded and transferred via railway to East Europe.

Bilateral trade between China and Russia has increased steadily in recent months. During the first three quarters of the year, trade volume between the two countries surged by 14.2 percent from a year earlier to $66.2 billion, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.