On September 8, the Second “Air Silk Road” International Forum was held at the China National Convention Center. This Forum is one of the 25 major professional forums at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), and also the only professional forum in the field of aviation during the CIFTIS. Discussed at the Forum, which was themed “creating synergy in the airport industry among countries along the air silk road and jointly building a new platform for enhancing economic cooperation in the aviation industry”, were such hot topics as the response the aviation industry and the airport economic zones shall make to promote quality development while taking into consideration the regular pandemic prevention and control measures in place and China’s plan to foster a new, dual-cycle development architecture with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and with domestic and international development reinforcing each other. CAAC Deputy Administrator Cui Xiaofeng attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Yu Luming, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Huang Qiang, Executive Vice Governor of Henan Province, and Luc Decker, Consul General of Luxembourg in Shanghai, also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. ICAO Secretary General Liu Fang addressed the Forum online.

Cui Xiaofeng said in his speech that since President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, CAAC, acting in line with the silk road spirit of “peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, learning from each other, mutual benefit, and win-win results”, and in accordance with the principle of “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits”, has been making proactive efforts to build an Air Silk Road with the BRI countries and establish a CAAC BRI cooperation platform. As a result, a new model of regional cooperation has been established, covering the following four areas: coordination in the development of air transport policy, cooperation in the development of aviation safety and security related technical standards, cooperation in the construction of aviation infrastructure, and communication in developing external policy for the purpose of facilitating air transport. China has to date signed intergovernmental air transport services agreements with 96 BRI countries and regions, and is still maintaining regular international passenger and cargo flights with 45 of them despite the pandemic, providing a safe, fast and efficient air connection for the enhanced cooperation among the BRI countries.

Cui Xiaofeng expressed his heartfelt thanks to the BRI partners for their help and support to China during the pandemic. He said that CAAC has taken effective pandemic prevention and control measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 by air transport and protect the health of passengers and aviation staff. CAAC has issued five editions of pandemic prevention and control guidelines, providing guidance for airlines and airports to implement differentiated prevention and control measures based on the level of risk of infections. Meanwhile, CAAC introduced a series of policies to provide financial subsidies, cut taxes and fees, provide funding, and facilitate flight schedule review and approval, and established a “green channel” to speed up the review and approval of international passengers and cargo flights, in an effort to keep the industry afloat during the crisis. At the end of August, domestic air travel in China registered more than 13000 flights on a daily basis, a 90% recovery to the pre-pandemic level. During the pandemic, CAAC shared its experience in pandemic prevention and control with civil aviation authorities in more than 50 countries and regions and 58 overseas airlines, and participated in activities related to pandemic prevention and control and operation restoration led by international organizations, contributing to the joint efforts made by the global civil aviation community to fight the pandemic and restore air transport. China delivered a total of more than 1700 tons of supplies to 47 countries and regions to assist them in their fight against the pandemic. China is currently operating 1068 cargo flights per week to/from the BRI countries and regions, which is 2.6 times the pre-pandemic level. Such flights provided critical support for the joint anti-pandemic efforts by the BRI countries.

Cui Xiaofeng concluded by saying that CAAC stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with civil aviation authorities and stakeholders of various countries via the CIFTIS, the BRI and other platforms, in an effort to tighten the pandemic prevention and control measures in the air transport industry, restore the air transport market, and boost the economic development of the airport industry. With such joint efforts, the Air Silk Road will become wider and wider. Thanks to the remarkable results achieved in the pandemic prevention and control, CAAC has been able to take the lead in the restoration and continue to gain new grounds, giving support to the implementation of the BRI. In the future, China will continue to promote a higher level of opening up to the outside world, foster a new, dual-cycle development architecture with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and with domestic and international development reinforcing each other, and join hands with other countries to build an Air Silk Road featuring safety and health, unity and cooperation, and intelligence-based development. Such efforts will bring new development opportunities and expand the aviation markets of BRI partners.

During the Forum, 45 participants made keynote speeches and in-depth discussions on a variety of themes, including “the Response and Restoration of the Civil Aviation Industry in the Post-pandemic Era”, “the Contribution of the Beijing Capital International Airport Economic Demonstration Zone to the Development of a World-class Aviation Hub”, “Opportunities and Challenges in the Construction of the Air Silk Road, An Example from Henan Province”, and “General Aviation, the Industrial Development of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and International Cooperation”. The Forum has brought together more than 600 guests, including the representatives of embassies in China from Russia and seven other BRI countries, representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association, leaders of local governments and the civil aviation authority in China, as well as heads of a number of domestic airlines, airports, state-level airport economic demonstration zones and social organizations.

During the Forum, the “China Airport Economic Development Index 2020” was released. A number of key projects, including the aviation-related documentary film “Chasing Dreams in the Blue Sky”, were signed and launched during the event.