JINAN - China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Tuesday launched a joint land and sea transport services in a bid to cut logistics costs and boost trade.

Semi-trailers loaded with cargo can now be shipped between Qingdao, Rizhao, Yantai, Weihai, Longyan and Shidao in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong and Incheon, Pyungtack and Kunsan in the ROK.

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The service can cut transport time by 3.5 hours and reduce costs by $50 per container, as trailers can be driven directly to customers without unloading and loading, according to the ROK's Transport Research Institute.

The service is expected to boost the shipments of fresh vegetables, live fish and other fragile products such as glass and electronics.

Gao Hongtao, deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Transportation Bureau, said that with continuous oxygen charging and temperature control, the service can increase by 10 percent the survival rate of live fish exported from Weihai to the ROK.

The two countries would later allow trucks to be shipped, according to an agreement they signed in September. The ports might also later include locations such as Northeast China's Liaoning province, according to Ju Chengzhi, director of the international cooperation department with China's Ministry of Transport.

This year marks the 20th year since the launching of cargo, passenger and container sea transport services between China and the ROK. China has become the ROK's largest trading partner, both as its largest importer and exporter.