Situated along China’s southeast coast, Xiamen city boasts a vibrant sea shipping industry, which is integrated with the high-speed railway routes launched recently to form a comprehensive transportation network facilitating Xiamen's international trade.

The Xiamen Port handled 9.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2016, and currently ranks 15th in the world as a container port.

The port connects to the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Africa and the rest of Asia via 143 international routes, reported Xinhua.

The shipping routes linking Vladivostok in Russia, Durban and Cape Town in South Africa and Mundra in India have been in operation for years and accumulated a loyal clientele, helping maintain sound business operations between Xiamen and the BRICS countries.

On land, several international railway routes have been launched over the past two years, including the ones starting at the Haicang district and reaching Lodz in Poland, Hamburg in Germany, and Moscow in Russia.

As of July, the high-speed railway routes carried 4149 forty-foot equivalent units (FEUs) with cargo worth 2.21 billion yuan ($330.3 million). Via sea shipping routes, these commodities may eventually reach the markets in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

A container ship unloads at the Songyu Dock in Haicang district on May 28. [Photo by Jiang Kehong/Xinhua]