BEIJING, Sept. 21 -- China's logistics networks for international trade have maintained sound operation this year and provided strong guarantees for the stability of industrial and supply chains, an official said Thursday.

Wang Xiuchun, from the Ministry of Transport, made the remarks citing steady throughput growth at ports, an increasing air freight volume, and stable China-Europe freight train services at a press conference.

In the first eight months of the year, the total throughput for foreign trade at ports across the country stood at 3.34 billion tonnes, up 9.7 percent from a year ago and also 16.9 percent higher than the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. About 10.32 million tonnes of international cargo and mail were sent by air, up 4.9 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

A total of 1.26 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers of goods were transported in the January-August period via 86 freight train routes linking Chinese cities with 217 European counterparts. The volume marked a 23 percent increase from a year earlier.

Wang also stressed the stronger goods-handling capacity of major land ports as the freight volume at major trade ports, including Horgos and Suifenhe, surged 89.1 percent year on year last month.

China's international delivery networks also improved, with an accelerated global push from Chinese courier companies, Wang added.