Peru produce lands in China

Peruvian mangos and blueberries have arrived in China on the maiden chartered cargo flight from Peru to Shanghai.

The cargo flight is a symbolic achievement for bilateral trade as well as the broader strategic partnership between China and Peru.

The China Eastern Airlines flight took off while President Xi Jinping was in Lima, capital of Peru, for the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting and conducting a state visit to Peru last week.

President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski spoke about their commitment to growing the relationship between the two nations.

Mangos and blueberries are among the first batch of the agricultural products to make the 18,000 flight, after they were given the green light to export into the Chinese market in an bid to strengthen bilateral trade.

The logistics arm of China Eastern Airlines created an efficient system to import fresh products from North America and South America. To date, its annual chartered cargo flights have increased from two in 2013 to 70, and increased the freight volume to 6,500 tons from 220 tons during the same period.

Before the launch of the direct flight, all major cargo flights from South America to Asia had to stop in the United States.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines is the world's seventh largest carrier. Its nearly 600 planes reach 177 nations and regions, and serves more than 100 million passengers each year.