A tractor hauls the parcels from the cross-border e-commerce businesses to the parking apron at the Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Changsha, China's Hunan province, on May 28, 2020. (File photo: Xinhua)

Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, on Friday opened its first regular air route for e-commerce cargo linking New York City in the United States.

The first flight on the route, carrying garments and other goods traded on e-commerce platforms, took off from the Changsha Huanghua International Airport on Friday afternoon.

Two cargo flights will operate on the route every week, according to the municipal government of Changsha.

Changsha lies at the central point of China's transportation network. Customs data shows the city's trade volume through cross-border e-commerce surged 651.4 percent year on year from January to July.

Amid the global economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, China's foreign trade sector has delivered better-than-expected performance so far this year, boosted by a boom in cross-border e-commerce.

In the first half of the year, China's trade volume via cross-border e-commerce platforms overseen by customs authorities increased 26.2 percent year on year, with exports and imports up by 28.7 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively, data by the General Administration of Customs showed.