A Chinese ship that's exporting goods to the Middle East and Africa from the newly built Gwadar port in Pakistan opened a new international trade route on Sunday.

Pakistan's prime minister and army chief saw off the first large shipment of Chinese goods through the port of Gwadar, part of a trade link between western China and the Arabian Sea.

The deep-water port in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan is key to the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses roads and energy projects.

"Pakistan is located at the intersection of three engines of growth in Asia - South Asia, China and Central Asia," Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said at a ceremony on Sunday. "CPEC will help in integrating these regions into an economic zone offering great opportunities for people of the region as well as investors from all over the world."