China plans to help dozens of countries develop their civil aviation capabilities through the Air Silk Road – a campaign that could, in turn, promote its home-grown aircraft and boost trade with nations from Central Asia to Europe.
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In the next phase of the eight-year-old initiative, Beijing would step up cooperation on aircraft leasing and civil aviation equipment manufacturing with some of the 150 countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the government said in a report.
At a time of strained ties with the United States, the report also called for the development of international air route networks and express air traffic corridors with some trading partners.
“China’s civil aviation sector prioritises enhancing air route network connectivity with countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, supporting the launch of new international passenger and cargo routes as well as increasing flight frequencies,” the report’s authors said.
Most of China’s BRI partners are in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
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The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the National Development and Reform Commission released the 77-page Chinese-English bilingual “Development Report on the Air Silk Road” in August.
As part of the initiative, Laos and Vietnam began leasing C909 regional jets from the Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) this year – a milestone in Beijing’s effort to break the global duopoly of plane makers Airbus and Boeing.