Voyage Through Time: Cargolux takes China to Europe, vice versa

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Europe

02:45

Trader who sailed through the ancient routes had to overcome so many difficulties, while the types of goods were quite limited. But nowadays, diverse goods can be delivered much easier with modern technologies, by land, by sea, or by air. The Luxembourg Airport is the sixth largest air cargo terminal in Europe. It is also an important part of the air silk road. Mariam Zaidi has more.

What is nestled between London, Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich? And helps connect China by air to the rest of the world?

MARIAM ZAIDI LUXEMBOURG "Welcome to the other side of the Air Silk Road. Here in Luxembourg, it's the gateway to Europe for all kinds of Chinese goods. The plane I'm standing on has been loaded with goods and the destinations are Mexico and New York City. Let's take a look at what's inside."

The cargo includes clothes packed on hangers. To avoid the ironing of goods on arrival.

PATRICK JEANNE CARGOLUX AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL "This is the 747/8 model which is the newest generation that Boeing has made. One of the special features of the plane is that it's possible to load very long pieces through the plane so it only takes one hour to load this entire airplane."

Air Cargo transportation, allows Luxembourgish companies to send niche products to Chinese consumers. But that transportation goes two ways. Back in December 2017, Cargo Lux flew one of the world renowned Hibaku pianos – that survived the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki- from Japan to the Nobel Prize Concert venue in Oslo.

JEAN-MARC REYNAERTS LUXAIR CARGO AIRPORT "The import cargo is coming in this shape out of the aircraft. It's built this way in China. Arrives here and needs to be distributed all over EU. And the principle for import distribution is the same for export on the other side of building."

Over 1.2 million tonnes of goods are handled in Luxembourg. From computer accessories, to courier mail, clothes to spare parts.

PATRICK JEANNE CARGOLUX AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL "We carry cargo between Lux and Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, and Zheng Zhou. Zheng Zhou is the most recent addition to our network. But it's also one that's been growing most significantly. Last year we transported 150 thousand tonnes between Zheng Zhou and Luxembourg."

Part of the up-tick is due to a 35% stake in Cargolux that was bought by the Henan Civil Aviation authority back in 2014.

It's estimated that Chinese Foreign Direct Investments in Luxembourg totalled 760 million US dollars in July this year alone. Mariam Zaidi, CGTN, Luxembourg.