Air services between China and the United States will largely
expand thanks to a landmark aviation agreement, sources from
General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) said on
Friday.
Over the next six years, the agreement officially signed on
Saturday?will more than double the number of airlines that may
operate between China and the United States, a CAAC official who
declined to be named said.
It will also increase by nearly five-fold the number of weekly
flights between the two countries -- from the current limit of 54
weekly round-trip flights to 249 weekly round-trip flights at the
end of a six-year phase-in period.
The agreement also allows services between additional cities,
eliminating restrictions on destinations and permitting unlimited
code-sharing between US and Chinese airlines on any US-China
route.
It provides unlimited rights to any US carrier that wishes to
operate to certain western and northeastern Chinese provinces in
greater need of international service.
"This agreement is a result of the fruitful bilateral
cooperation between China and the United States in the past 20
years and will benefit airline companies and make the interaction
between two peoples more convenient," the official said.
The introduction of additional foreign airlines will help step
up the construction of aviation infrastructure facilities and push
for the development of the nation's aviation industry at large, he
said.
Visiting US Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta
highlighted the significance of the landmark aviation agreement,
saying it will fundamentally reshape the commercial aviation
relationship between the two countries.
"The air service agreement represents a major breakthrough in
both economic liberalization and transportation liberalization,"
Mineta said in a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce
Luncheon in Beijing on Friday.
The agreement was reached in Washington after four rounds of
talks starting last February.
The last agreement to expand US-China air services was concluded
in April 1999, when each country's carriers were allowed to
increase their weekly flights in the market from 27 to 54, and each
side was allowed to designate one additional airline, for a total
of four, to serve the market.
The new agreement will allow five additional airlines from each
country to serve the US-China market.
According to the agreement, the United States may name one
additional all-cargo airline, while China may name either a
passenger or cargo airline, to start service later this year.
The other four new airlines may be either passenger or cargo
carriers, with one new carrier entering the market in each of the
years 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Mineta said the agreement also contains innovative new
provisions that may serve as a model for aviation liberalization
elsewhere.
"For example, the agreement will substantially increase the
'doing business' freedoms of US airlines in China, including broad
rights for US cargo airlines who are willing to invest in 'hub'
operations in China," he said.
Mineta appreciated China's liberalization in the important
bilateral market, saying China deserves much credit for its
foresight and willingness to open its international aviation market
so extensively.
"Additionally, China deserves credit for the substantial reforms
that it has been willing to take in its domestic aviation system,"
Mineta said.
These reforms will help to build a more viable, stronger and
more competitive civil aviation network, he said.
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(China Daily July 24, 2004)