The vessel Meratus Kumai, carrying marble products and other goods, set sail from Xiamen Port in Fujian Province to Indonesia on August 17, marking the maiden voyage of the new Xiamen–Indonesia shipping route.
With Indonesia joining BRICS this year, economic and trade exchanges among BRICS nations has flourished. Fujian in Southeast China, known for its overseas Chinese community, is well positioned to enhance trade investment and marine economy cooperation with Indonesia.
Xiamen, a strategic hub on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has actively expanded trade links and shipping routes with other BRICS nations. Xiamen Port now operates 24 BRICS routes, connecting 20 major ports across six BRICS nations. These shipping lanes transport Fujian’s characteristic products such as apparel, footwear, and home furnishings and sanitary ware to global markets.
The new route follows a monthly schedule linking Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Xiamen, Qingdao, and Shanghai. Compared with traditional Indonesia routes from Xiamen, it reduces the number of port calls, cutting transit time by nearly 25 percent. This improves connectivity with Southeast Asian ports while lowering logistics costs, particularly for bulk commodities and industrial components with stable shipping cycle demands.
The opening of the route further strengthens Southeast Asia’s near-sea shipping network, injecting new momentum into regional trade and reinforcing Xiamen Port’s role as an international shipping hub.
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
