Pingtan Customs officers inspect epidemic prevention and control materials from a Taipei ship. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

More than 39,000 batches of epidemic prevention and control goods worth nearly 8 million yuan ($1.14 million) were cleared by Pingtan Customs from Jan 26 to March 14, according to statistics released by Pingtan Customs.

During the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, many airlines around the world cancelled or reduced flights to China, and piles of packages including masks, protective clothing, and other anti-epidemic goods and daily necessities purchased or donated by Chinese people were stuck overseas.

Pingtan, East China's Fujian province, has opened a sea-air combined transportation service connecting the mainland and Taiwan for the purpose of delivering donated materials, and the local customs office opened a green channel to ensure the quick clearance and withdrawal of materials from the Taipei ship in a bid to resolve delivery difficulties. 

According to Pingtan Customs, the sea-air combined transportation model meets the package delivery needs of people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, and currently, the Taipei ship is playing an important role in reopening logistics channels in Pingtan.

Additionally, the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, as the closest area on the Chinese mainland to Taiwan province, has made significant efforts to promote cross-Straits cooperation and development, and aims to open up sea routes across the Straits and ensure the smooth flow of people and goods in order to strengthen cross-Straits trade and economic and people-to-people exchange.

Pingtan opened a new sea route in 2019 to connect with Kaohsiung, a city in southwestern Taiwan, which has greatly cut shipping time from two or three days to nine hours, making it possible for Taiwan goods arrive in the mainland much sooner than before. Currently, three ships connecting the mainland with Taiwan's three major cities are operating out of Pingtan, starting a new chapter in cross-Straits maritime traffic and making travel across the Straits more convenient.

According to statistics, the total value of imports and exports of agricultural and fresh aquatic products between Pingtan Port and Taiwan exceeded 659 million yuan in 2019, with imports from Taiwan seeing a 5.69-fold increase year-on-year.

Since 2011, Pingtan Port has delivered nearly 1 million passengers across the Straits, and in 2019, passenger volume surpassed 190,000, up 27.5 percent year-on-year.

The sea routes have become a vital channel for cultural and economic exchanges between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. They have particularly boosted seafood trade and e-commerce, said local officials.