China Post Airlines launched its first international cargo flight service on Thursday, opening an air route from Beijing to Seoul in the Republic of Korea .

The airline, jointly owned by China Southern Airlines and China's State Post Bureau (China Post), will extend its air routes to Europe and America as well as other countries in Asia when the time is ripe, the Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.

Facing drastic competition at home from international delivery giants that have entered the Chinese express delivery market, the airline is trying to compete by entering the international cargo market, said the paper.

In line with its commitments to the World Trade Organization, China's express delivery market was fully opened to competition in December last year. Now international delivery companies such as DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS hold more than 60 percent of the domestic market.

The market share of China Post's express mail service (EMS) has been shrinking, challenged not only by foreign players but also by private domestic companies, said the paper.

By April this year, private delivery services accounted for 80 percent of the country's intracity express service and 50 percent of inter-provincial business.

In an effort to outrun its competitors, China Post last year introduced next-morning delivery and cross-region delivery, using overnight flights. China Post Airlines is the first domestic air company to fly overnight, the paper reported.

Source: Xinhua