China aviation regulator head, US ambassador seek increase of flights

[November 22, 2023]  BEIJING (Reuters) - The head of China's civil aviation regulator, Song Zhiyong, met with the U.S. Ambassador in Beijing Nicholas Burns, and exchanged views on pushing for a substantial increase in flights between the two countries, the regulator said on Wednesday. 

A general view of Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 17, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) welcomes U.S. aviation-related enterprises to operate and develop in China, Song said.

Back in August, the United States and China said they would approve twice the number of passenger flights currently permitted for air carriers to fly between the two countries.

In his speech at a reception, Song said the two countries should continue the vision that President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden laid out in their recent meeting at APEC and create a new situation for China-U.S. civil aviation cooperation in the future.

Song and Burns expounded on those talks, saying they both want to strengthen cooperation in various fields of civil aviation between China and the U.S., according to a statement.

"CAAC welcomes American aviation-related enterprises to operate and develop in China and jointly create a better future for the global aviation industry," Song said.

Both want China and the U.S. to further increase flights by a large margin, Song said, as relations between the two countries show signs of thawing after months of tensions over several global issues.

(Reporting by Bernard Orr and Ethan Wang; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.