Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. [Photo/VCG]

Cargo throughput at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has outperformed that of 2019, a sign of sustained recovery of the Chinese economy.

The airport in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, handled 2 million metric tons of cargo by Wednesday so far this year, compared to 1.92 million tons in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Amid weak growth in the global economy, the performance is an indicator of a warming Chinese economy and the airport's strong resilience, said Tang Rongzhu, general manager of the Logistics Co of Guangdong Airport Authority.

It has also boosted the confidence of parties involved in building the airport into an international air cargo hub, he said.

The airport is expected to claim the second spot in cargo throughput among domestic airports for a fourth consecutive year, indicating the significant advantage of Guangdong's supply chain.

This year, 15 international air cargo flights have been launched between Guangzhou and cities including Chennai in India, New York, Madrid and Milan in Italy.

Apart from freight forwarders, the Logistics Co of Guangdong Airport Authority has actively contacted top cross-border e-commerce companies and advanced manufacturing companies to facilitate chartered flights, said Su Zheng, deputy general manager of the company.

It has also facilitated one-stop services to comprehensive logistics providers like FedEx Express, Su said.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has also established alliances with other domestic airports in cargo transport.

Its third-phase construction is underway, which will double the cargo terminal area to over 1 million square meters.

The Logistics Co of Guangdong Airport Authority will work with airlines and logistics companies to expand the cargo transfer business at the airport, Tang said.

It will re-engineer the cargo flow to and from the airport, design services for seasonal quick-delivery products and provide tailor-made solutions for leading enterprises in supply chains.

Earlier this month, a cooperation deal was launched to integrate ONE Record, a cargo data-sharing standard established by the International Air Transport Association, with the Digi-Cargo system of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, in order to enhance the digital profile of the airport.

As a critical air cargo hub in China, Guangzhou has been an indispensable gateway into China for FedEx, the company said in a statement during the groundbreaking ceremony for the FedEx South China Operations Center earlier this month.

The facility will occupy an area of more than 41,000 square meters and will be able to sort up to 25,000 packages and documents per hour, three times the sorting efficiency of the company's current Guangzhou Gateway.