The first scheduled container shipping service from southeastern China's Quanzhou port to Taiwan has been launched, Xinhua reported. The service provide two sailings a week on Mondays and Thursdays from Quanzhou's Houzhu port area to Kaohsiung and Taichung. Before the shipping line was launched, cargo from Taiwan have to be discharged at the port of Jinmen and reloaded onto ships bound for Quanzhou. Many Taiwan shippers have long been wishing for the launch of a scheduled service between Quanzhou and Taiwan.

Provider of the service is a Quanzhou shipping company and is said to have obtained the licence for operating direct shipping service between mainland and Taiwan in April. The company later set up a branch office in Kaohsiung in May.