Domestic and overseas cargo airlines will be allowed to?set
up ventures in China as the country further loosens its control
over the air cargo market.
“Our policy is to encourage airlines to run joint ventures or
solely funded ventures as they expand within the air cargo market,”
said Li Yongqi, deputy director of Planning and Financial
Development for the General Administration of Civil Aviation of
China (CAAC).
Li was speaking at the two-day China Air Cargo Summit 2004,
which ends Tuesday. Organized by Avail Corp and CAAC, and attended
by leaders of the world’s major airlines, the summit focused on
developing sustainable growth in China’s competitive air cargo
industry.
“Approval procedures for purchasing aircraft will be simplified
and rules to approve cargo air routes and flights will be
reformed,” Li said.
He said CAAC has received applications from Federal Express of
the US to set up a solely funded cargo base in Guangzhou. Shenzhen
Airlines has also applied to establish a JV cargo airline with
Lufthansa Cargo.
“CAAC is conducting further research into the two projects,” Li
said. He did not say whether or when they were expected to be
approved.
China first advanced in 2002 an aviation liberalization policy
that calls for the air cargo transport sector to develop in an
active, gradual, organized and steadfast way.
More than 2.2 million tons of cargo and mail were handled in
China last year, up 8.4 percent from 2002 and putting it among the
world’s air cargo markets with the most potential.
International cargo and mail totaled 514,000 tons in 2003, an
increase of 20.9 percent from the preceding year.
“However, cargo volume accounted for a much lower rate, reaching
only 4.6 percent of the global market,” said Song Qinghua, deputy
director of CAAC’s International Cooperation Department. He said
the cargo volume is expected to rise to 4.7 million tons by 2010
with an annual growth rate of 10 percent.
“The air cargo market in China is quite promising, but it needs
more aircraft and flights,” Song said.
At present, China has only 21 cargo planes. Three more are
expected to be added to the fleet by the end of the year. “That is
still short of meeting growing demand,” Song said.
Industry insiders say the policy to expand the air cargo
business is part of the nation’s strategy to become a civil
aviation power.
In the past few years, CAAC implemented several measures to
stimulate the nation’s air cargo business, said Song. It has set up
leading groups with Hainan
Province and Shanghai for the further opening up of flight
rights, and signed an agreement with the Tianjin
municipal government to expand its air cargo business.
According to Li Yongqi, CAAC is encouraging the establishment of
certain local air cargo hubs. In addition to Shanghai’s bid to turn
Pudong Airport into an air hub, CAAC will give priority to the
airports in Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Kunming to
create cargo hubs.
“Airlines are encouraged to run cargo bases at these airports,”
Li said.
Pudong Airport has established a cargo transport zone consisting
of the airport’s own three cargo stations, together with those of
China Cargo Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.
(China Daily June 8, 2004)