China to Expand International Flights to 80% of Pre-COVID Levels This Year

Local media reported on the 5th that China plans to increase international flight routes this year to 80% of the pre-COVID-19 level. This move by China is seen as a strategy to attract more foreign tourists, which has not increased even after the border lockdown was lifted early last year.

According to Global Times, authorities decided at the China Civil Aviation Work Conference held in Beijing the day before to expand international routes by 30% from the current level, increasing to 6,000 flights per week. The goal is to expand the annual number of international passengers to 60 million by the end of this year. Currently, China operates 4,600 international flights per week.

They also plan to significantly expand direct flights between the US and China. This is part of implementing the agreement reached during the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden. At the US-China summit in San Francisco last November, President Xi and President Biden agreed to greatly increase flights between the two countries. Since November last year, the number of direct US-China flights has increased from 24 per week to 70, but this is still far below the pre-COVID-19 level of 340 flights per week.

At the meeting, authorities also decided to actively promote the expansion of international flights with Belt and Road countries (the overland and maritime Silk Road connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe) and to simplify visa and immigration procedures. Earlier, starting in December last year, China began a one-year pilot visa exemption for up to 15 days for six countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. In the same month, China reduced visa issuance fees by 25% for 12 countries including South Korea, and from this year, it has also eased visa issuance requirements for US tourists.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.