A new direct maritime route between China and Mexico has been inaugurated, cutting travel time for merchant ships by up to 10 days. The route starts from Dalian Port in northeast China and reduces the navigation time compared to previous routes.
The OOCL Chennai, a shipping company from India, made the maiden voyage on Friday, taking 22 days – 10 fewer than previously used routes – to complete the journey. The route is operated by China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited.
China COSCO plans to charter eight cargo ships with capacities ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to provide weekly direct service to Mexican ports such as Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Lázaro Cárdenas on the Pacific coast of North America.
The new route will transport goods such as grains, chemicals, minerals, automotive parts, and machinery, according to Li Xiaoguang, director general of Dalian Container Terminal, who was cited by the official Xinhua news agency.
“This will effectively meet the transportation needs of companies in northeast China that want to tap into emerging markets in Latin America,” he said.
Dalian Port currently manages over 100 maritime routes, including connections with Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Mexico is China’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America. According to customs data, bilateral trade reached $86 billion (633 million yuan) in 2022, a 13.3% increase from the previous year.
This month, the United States and Mexico announced new measures to combat Chinese evasion of US tariffs on steel and aluminum by implementing a “dumping and smelting” rule for steel.
Source: Latinus
