The logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has partnered with Russian postal service, Pochta, to launch a direct freighter service between China and Russia to deliver orders made from AliExpress — Russia, an online retail service also owned by the Alibaba Group.

Alibaba's Cainiao Smart Logistics Network will reportedly lease seven cargo jets from two Russian firms, Pochta and Aviastar-Tu, to be able to start daily flights from China to Russian cities of Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk.

The new initiative is expected to cut the delivery time of e-commerce goods from China to Russia to 10 days, amid a rapidly growing Russian e-commerce market with a yearly turnover estimated to be valued over US$14 billion.

Alibaba also recently up its stake at Cainiao to 63% from the previous 51% ownership, announcing an increased investment of US$3.3 billion ahead of the "11.11" Chinese shopping craze on November 11.