New China-Africa Air Cargo Route From Hainan to Kenya, South Africa

The Kenyan cargo airline Astral Aviation launched new direct service between the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and Africa, with service to both Nairobi and Johannesburg. The first flight took off late last week, ferrying 48 tons of Chinese electronics and e-commerce goods.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Until recently, Beijing sought to position Hainan as a major trading hub focused primarily on Southeast Asia. Now, though, it appears authorities have larger ambitions to leverage the Haikou free trade zone to serve Africa and other regions as well.

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by Eric Olander

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