China and Japan agreed on Thursday to expand mutual access to
their aviation markets, allowing a 20-percent increase in passenger
flights and a doubling of cargo flights volume.
China's General Administration of Civil Aviation announced the
news after its director, Yang Yuanyuan, signed a negotiation
summary with Japan's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister
Kitagawa Kazuo.
The increase means China and Japan will be able to expand the
two-way air traffic by an equivalent of 92 B767-300 passenger
flights and 76 B767F cargo flights every week.
In addition, the summary allows both countries to add two
locations for departure and two for arrival.
In a meeting after the signing ceremony, China's State Councilor
Tang Jiaxuan told Kitagawa Kazuo that he hoped the two sides will
continue to work together to develop the aviation market, expand
personnel exchanges and improve mutual understanding for reciprocal
cooperation.
Kitagawa Kazuo said despite political obstacles between Japan
and China, the two countries' aviation authorities had overcome
difficulties to reach the agreement, which will help bolster their
aviation industries and exchanges and cooperation in other
fields.
China and Japan signed an agreement on civil aviation in 1974,
under which nine Chinese and Japanese airlines now operate routine
flights among 19 Chinese and 17 Japanese cities.
Statistics from China's General Administration of Civil Aviation
showed that China has become Japan's second largest international
market for air traffic and Japan is China's largest international
air traffic market.
Sources with the Chinese administration said the summary was an
"important" agreement reached between China and Japan after many
rounds of negotiations.
It was a comprehensive review and update of the air traffic
arrangements between the two countries over the past 30 years, the
sources said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)
