East China's Shanghai has filled a crucial gap in its cross-border e-commerce export capabilities by launching a new sea route.

On July 19, a container loaded with 566 pieces of domestically produced furniture, daily necessities and travel sets left Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Port for Northeast Asia, marking the debut of the new 9610 sea export channel for cross-border e-commerce.

The 9610 customs supervision code represents the cross-border e-commerce model, also known as the "consolidation model".

This approach is designed for small packages, multiple product categories and high-frequency B2C – or business-to-consumer – orders in cross-border e-commerce. These orders are generated on various e-commerce platforms and shipped to overseas buyers via international express or specialized small package logistics.

Compared to traditional trade exports, the 9610 model offers shorter supply chains, lower costs and greater efficiency in customs clearance.

Ren Wenlei, general manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Comprehensive Free Trade Zone Development Co Ltd, said this new channel provides cross-border e-commerce businesses with more diverse logistics options for exporting low-value-added and high-volume packages from Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Shanghai's cross-border e-commerce air exports continue to grow rapidly. In the first half of the year, the city's air cargo port handled 245 million ($33.86 million) in cross-border e-commerce export declarations, up 36 percent year-on-year, with a total value of goods of 40.7 billion yuan and a weight of 219,900 metric tons.