In his speech, Qian Keming said, on his visit to Africa on May 2014, Premier Li Keqiang announced to launch the “China-Africa regional aviation cooperation plan” to support Chinese enterprises to establish airline joint ventures with Africa, provide civil regional aircrafts and jointly develop Africa’s regional aviation industry. That was an important move in cooperation with Africa in new period of time proposed by the central committee and the State Council in accordance with the two general situation of integrating domestic and international politics from a perspective of national strategy and has provided a new historic opportunity for China’s aviation industry to go global.
Qian Keming said, as a leading department for the China-Africa regional aviation cooperation plan, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments and foreign embassies to make active efforts to advance the follow-up work. African countries and regional organization have responded actively and over 30 African countries expressed their intention of conducting aviation cooperation with China. The MOFCOM will render greater support to guarantee policy environment and capital, make active efforts to step up negotiations on signing the MOU on aviation with African countries and help the African countries to train airline talents, and formulate and implement financing support plans for projects of exporting civil planes made in China to the African countries and building airplane repair center, airports and terminals. Chinese enterprises like the Hainan Airlines, Aviation Industry Corporation of China and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd are positively expanding the African market and have made positive progress in joint airline operation, civil plane export and supportive equipment construction.
Qian keming put forth three suggestions to enterprises and financial institutions: firstly, we should attach much importance and catch the cooperation opportunity and steadily advance specific project cooperation; secondly, the whole industrial chain should coordinate with each other, integrate resources and make concerted efforts; thirdly, we should take the market as the base, head forward and ensure our own business modes and practical ways. Qian Keming also stressed that the MOFCOM will put enterprises’ difficulties as its orientation, work with the relevant departments to study supportive measures, provide necessary policy and capital support and build better conditions and platforms for business cooperation.
The department of western Asia and African affairs of MOFCOM, the department of international affairs and department of aircraft airworthiness of the Civil Aviation Administration of China also made introduction to supportive measures of non-aviation cooperation, project cooperation and follow-up work arrangement. Representatives from 12 enterprises and financial institutions joined the meeting exchanges.
Representatives from enterprises and financial institutions said the “China-Africa regional aviation cooperation plan” declared by Premier Li Keqiang is encouraging and inspiring, they will resolutely carry out the decision and deployment made by the central government, closely relate their own development with national strategy, expand the non-aviation market while developing opportunities, connect the present economic interests with long-term strategic layout, and expand Africa’s aviation market while constantly improving their own international operation level and ability.
Attending the seminar were over 100 people from the Ministry of Commerce, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and industrial associations, aviation enterprises, engineering enterprises, financial institutions and social media.
