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Ralph Jennings

China and Kazakhstan have agreed to add 28 weekly round-trip flights between the two countries, the latest sign of growing Chinese commercial interest in Central Asia.
Civil Aviation Administration of China deputy director general Bai Wenli and Saltanat Tompieva, the chairwoman of the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s civil aviation committee, decided to increase scheduled passenger flights – by airlines from both countries – to 152 from 124 per week, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan said on its website on Wednesday.
It said the two officials, who met in Beijing this week, also expanded the list of approved Chinese destinations to 11, including the logistics and industrial hub of Chongqing.
The head of Asian operations at British market intelligence firm OAG Aviation, Mayur Patel, said passengers would use the flights between the two neighbours mainly for tourism, transit to third countries and access to Chinese-led infrastructure projects in Central Asia – part of Beijing’s 13-year-old Belt and Road Initiative.
Trade between China and Kazakhstan, one of the first belt and road participants, reached US$22 billion in the first five months of this year, up 27 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to Chinese customs data.
Central Asia demand post-Covid has been quite a surprise to many
Mayur Patel, OAG Aviation
China sees the vast nation of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries as sources of minerals and energy, as well as transport links to points further west. An estimated 85 per cent of rail trade between China and Europe passes through Kazakhstan.
Patel said Central Asian countries were increasingly being used for transit because they allowed airlines to avoid flying near war zones in Iran or Ukraine.
“Central Asia demand post-Covid has been quite a surprise to many,” he said. “Central Asia has just become a new thing.”
Airlines taking advantage of the additional flights were likely to start at three round trips a week to “test the market” and apply for a fourth or fifth if they sensed extra demand, Patel added.
China Southern Airlines and Kazakhstan’s Air Astana offer the most flights between the two countries at the moment, according to OAG data.
Aviation officials from the two countries also discussed the launch of direct flights between Shanghai and Astana, the Kazakh capital, as well as creating another “air corridor”, the Kazakh aviation administration website said.


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Officials meeting in Beijing also expanded list of approved Chinese cities to 11, including Chongqing


Officials meeting in Beijing also expanded list of approved Chinese cities to 11, including Chongqing.


China and Kazakhstan agree to increase number of weekly round-trip flights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Officials meeting in Beijing also expanded list of approved Chinese cities to 11, including Chongqing

Officials meeting in Beijing also expanded list of approved Chinese cities to 11, including Chongqing