The first scheduled air cargo service direct between China and South America has begun, the Dazhong Daily reports.

Flights now leave Jinan in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong twice or thrice a week, carrying up to 50 tonnes of freight, bound for São Paulo in southeastern Brazil, according to a report carried yesterday by the Communist Party of China Shandong Provincial Committee newspaper.

The report says the first outward flight, last week, carried electrical equipment, electronic parts and chemicals, and that the first return flight was due to carry clothes, electronics, fruit and frozen seafood.

The new service cuts the cost of carrying freight by air between China and Brazil, reduces the journey time by 10 hours, and will increase Sino-South American trade, the Dazhong Daily says.