China will further open up its air cargo market in an active,
gradual and orderly way, announced Yang Yuanyuan, director general
of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China at the
International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) Summit 2006 in Beijing
on Monday.
This is the first time that TIACA is holding its summit in China
and indeed in the Far East.
The Miami-based association is among the most influential cargo
transport organizations in the world and its members include most
of the major airlines, airports and cargo forwarding companies.
Also discussed during the summit were plans for the construction
of air transportation hubs that will in turn encourage the
expansion of China aviation rights to foreign companies.
Sino-foreign joint ventures were also encouraged to set up
all-cargo airline companies.
Yang added that China has signed relatively relaxed agreements
on bilateral transportation with US, India and some other
countries.
In July 2004, a landmark agreement between China and US on air
cargo delivery was signed. The agreement, for the first time,
allowed US air transport companies to set up cargo transport hubs
in China.
Further, the granting of Fifth Freedom Rights for air cargo in
cities such as Haikou serves as added impetus for foreign
airfreight companies to do business in China. Fifth Freedom Rights
enable an airline/freight forwarder to load and unload cargo or
passengers at a particular destination and leave directly for
another place without first having to return to its country of
origin.
The airfreight sector is a current investment gem. Five air
cargo companies, including Jade Cargo International Company
Limited, Great Wall Airlines Company Limited, Shanghai
International Air Cargo Company Limited, have been approved for
construction, according to Yang. They are expected to start
business later this year.
As per China's World Trade Organization commitments, its
logistics industry was opened last December to wholly foreign-owned
enterprises. This gave multinational companies such as UPS and DHL,
which have been eyeing the Chinese market for a long time, a foot
in.
TIACA Chairman Gary Bartek said that China’s rapidly growing air
cargo sector represents a huge market that should not be
neglected.
It is predicted that in the following several years, air cargo
volume in China will maintain an average annual growth rate of over
10 percent, far exceeding the world average of 6.2 percent.
(China.org.cn by Yuan Fang, April 13, 2006)