Story In brief

• Cathay Cargo has a strong presence at the Chinese Mainland’s premier logistics event
• The leadership team attended the event to address customers and media about Cathay Cargo’s capabilities
• Cathay Cargo’s dedicated WeChat channel is helping to spread the word across the Chinese Mainland
• The Chinese Mainland’s global trade performance is strengthening air cargo’s role

Story in full

The Cathay Cargo team from the Chinese Mainland joined the leadership team at a very busy Air Cargo Shanghai, part of the biennial Transport Logistics Shanghai trade show, which was renamed from Air Cargo China and was last held in 2024. If evidence were needed of the growing importance of air cargo in the Chinese Mainland, then it was on full display in June in Shanghai.

The air cargo portion of the show had expanded dramatically since the last edition, more than doubling in size to occupy two exhibition halls. The event welcomed big crowds visiting stands from air cargo players and suppliers from across the globe, including Cathay Cargo, with its anniversary-themed stand to reflect 80 years of proven excellence and its forward-looking ambitions for the years ahead.

Bigger show business

“Compared to the previous edition, Air Cargo Shanghai 2026 was much larger in scale with an increased number of exhibitors, and even greater numbers of visitors,” says Wendy Ge, Head of Cargo for the Chinese Mainland.

Ge feels that Cathay Cargo’s second consecutive appearance at the show reflects the brand’s deepening commitment to the Chinese Mainland market. “It also helps strengthen our role as a key connector between the Chinese Mainland and global markets through Hong Kong, helped by our extensive network, specialist solutions, digital innovation, sustainability initiatives and long-term investment in our freighter fleet.”

This ties in with the changes in manufacturing and the shift in emphasis on exports from the Chinese Mainland. The region’s global trade for the first half of 2026 has seen double-digit growth year on year, matched by exports, which in turn have seen air cargo volumes rise by more than eight per cent from Shanghai, outperforming those of the world’s number one cargo hub, Hong Kong. “With the deepening of regional connectivity and trade through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, logistics demand between the mainland and other Asian and international markets continues to grow,” says Ge. “Additionally, high-value goods such as, electronic products, and pharmaceuticals are experiencing continuous growth, placing higher demands on safety, compliance, and professional solutions for air cargo.”

Part of the messaging at the show featured the launch of Cathay Pacific passenger services to Almaty next year, its first destination in Central Asia and a significant centre for the Belt and Road initiative. Visitors to the stand were also guided through Cathay Cargo’s nine specialised shipment solutions. “Regardless of how logistics models evolve, customers' core needs for speed, stability, and flexibility remain unchanged,” adds Ge. And that’s especially the case for intra-Asia flows.

A showcase of expertise

The stand itself was a major attraction and an effective platform for showcasing Cathay Cargo’s solutions and services. “In addition to meeting our existing customers and partners, we received quite a lot of enquiries from visitors about our solutions, with many expressing an interest in doing business with us,” adds Ge. That interest amounted to more than 2,000 people visiting the stand.

In addition, Cathay Cargo’s senior leadership team – including Director Cargo Dominic Perret, General Manager Cargo Commercial James Evans and General Manager Cargo Service Delivery Tim Wong, along with Calvin Hui, Head of Cargo Customer Experience and Service Excellence – was in great demand from the media, taking part in interviews for a variety of TV channels, news media and trade publications, resulting in significant media exposure both in the Chinese Mainland and beyond.

“The key message is that we will continue to strengthen our connectivity role, deepen our presence in the Chinese Mainland, and focus our efforts on improving the quality of connectivity to better support the high-quality development happening here,” says Ge.

Extending social reach

Exposure for Cathay Cargo has been helped in recent times by the launch of the Cathay Cargo WeChat channel, which launched in May. This has enabled potential customers and fans of the brand to gain access to more dynamic media.

“People can pick up key messages from short videos really quickly here,” says Ge. “We can now share our solutions and services, achievements and activities with the audience in a vivid and dynamic way.”

While WeChat provides useful brand messaging, events – and Air Cargo Shanghai in particular – provide a valuable platform to deepen engagement across the Chinese Mainland market and strengthen relationships with customers and partners there.

Dialogue beyond the show halls

As well as holding meetings at the exhibition booth, the Cathay Cargo team was involved in a lot of other activities around the show. “We held a special seminar for customers and visitors that saw our senior team from Hong Kong and trade stakeholders share insights about digitalisation, AI and the intermodal links to the Greater Bay Area,” adds Ge. “We also hosted a party on the Bund that enabled us to have an enjoyable evening with our customers, partners and suppliers in more relaxed surroundings.”

Getting the message across in Shanghai is important as the Chinese Mainland continues to grow in its global trade role. Appearing in person is a good reminder to the market of Cathay Cargo’s capabilities and those of its hub.

“Hong Kong is still an ideal air cargo hub in the eyes of freight forwarders in the Chinese Mainland because it’s a free port, and because of its professionalism and efficiency, and Cathay Cargo enjoys a good reputation among both global and local customers,” says Ge. “As the Chinese Mainland strengthens its role in global trade and supply chains, it will create growing demand not only from Chinese businesses expanding globally, but also from higher-quality imports and increasingly dynamic two-way trade flows.”

“Our role is to enable these connections more effectively. With our unique positioning, together with our global network, freighter and passenger capacity, and Greater Bay Area intermodal capabilities, we are well positioned to support the evolving needs of Chinese Mainland customers.”