CHONGQING - A new sea-rail transportation route linking Southwest China's Chongqing municipality and Singapore was launched Wednesday.

A freight train carrying 21 containers left Chongqing at around 11 am and will arrive at Qinzhou Port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in two days. From there, the containers will continue to Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries by sea.

The Chongqing-Guangxi-Singapore international route complements the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe rail link, providing inland provinces with access to both the Silk Road Economic Belt to their north and the 21st Maritime Silk Road to their south, said Li Muyuan from the China Communications and Transportation Association.

The sea-rail link will allow products from Southwest China to reach American, European and African countries via Singapore, he said.