China's domestically developed C909 aircraft has opened its second high-altitude route, with a Chengdu Airlines flight landing at Bayanbulak Airport in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on June 23. Photo: Courtesy of COMAC

China's civil aviation industry has seen steady growth in terms of overseas transport in the first half of this year, with routes to Central Asia and Latin America surging over 70 percent year-on-year.

China added seven new international passenger destinations and 19 new international cargo destinations. Both passenger and cargo traffic volumes by Chinese airlines to the Asian and European markets increased by more than 20 percent year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday, citing data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Passenger traffic to Central Asia grew by 79.8 percent, followed by 78.5 percent growth for Latin America, the CAAC added.

The significant growth in international transport has become a highlight in China's civil aviation development, the CAAC said. 

The expanding routes are in line with customs data. Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed that by source region, import growth rates from Central Asia and Latin America outpaced the overall rate in the first quarter. The imports and exports of private enterprises to traditional markets grew by 12.3 percent, while their imports and exports to Central Asia increased by 31.2 percent.

China-Central Asia air connectivity has been expanding. Data from Flight Master sent to the Global Times on Thursday showed that in June, the recovery rate of flights between the Chinese mainland and Uzbekistan (compared with 2019) was 589.4 percent, and the recovery rate of flights between the Chinese mainland and Kazakhstan was 237.5 percent, with more than 900 flights to Kazakhstan throughout June. 

On March 30, China Eastern Airlines launched a direct flight between Shanghai and Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Also in March, China Southern Airlines flight CZ8147, carrying 134 passengers, departed from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, and landed at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, marking the successful inaugural flight of the airline's direct Guangzhou-Bishkek passenger service.

On July 1, Kazakhstan's FlyArystan-operated Airbus A320 landed at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marking the inaugural flight of the scheduled route between Kazakhstan's capital Almaty and Xi'an.