NANJING — A special direct air route for e-commerce cargo has recently been launched to connect East China's Jiangsu province with the Philippines.

The first flight carried some 50,000 goods worth a total of 5 million yuan (about $769,000) from the Chinese city of Changzhou to Manila on March 15.

More than 200 flights via the route are planned for this year to realize exports with a total value of 650 million yuan, according to Changzhou's cross-border e-commerce supervision authorities.

As one of the country's major exporters, Jiangsu saw a record 4.45 trillion yuan of foreign trade in goods last year, ranking second nationwide.