Press Release

U.S.-China Civil Aviation Negotiations

April 21, 2006

U.S. and Chinese officials met April 19-20 in Beijing for consultations on bilateral civil aviation relations.  A U.S. delegation comprising officials from the U.S. Departments of State, Transportation and Commerce as well as numerous representatives from the U.S. aviation industry, met with officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of China and executives from Chinese airlines.

The two sides reviewed the very positive implementation of the 2004 amendment to the U.S.-China air services agreement, which expanded traffic rights for carriers from both countries.  They took note of the sharp increase in bilateral air traffic, for both passengers and cargo, supported by that amendment and reviewed all issues under the bilateral agreement.

The U.S. and Chinese negotiators also reaffirmed their commitment to the eventual objective of full liberalization of their aviation relations and held initial discussions on steps to reach this goal.  The two sides plan to meet again in the near future to continue the dialogue on aviation liberalization issues.