Air Service Liberalization: China and its Top Destinations

Since the early days of aviation, different countries have been concerned with the rights of the air carriers. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, or the Chicago Convention, was signed by 52 countries in 1944 to promote the future development of international civil aviation, co-operation and the peace between nations.  It required governments to negotiate air transport key areas including routes, capacity, and pricing.  The purpose of this research is to present the air service liberalization on the example of China and its top destinations. The top destinations were selected based on the outbound passenger traffic of Chinese nationals. A multilateral agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and eight bilateral agreements between China and its top country-destinations (South Korea, Japan, U.S., Russia, Australia, Italy, Canada, and Germany) were investigated including key characteristics such as airline nationality, traffic rights, commercial changes, ownership, and regulatory cooperation.  Air service liberalization expands international passenger and cargo flights from and to China, which in turn promotes an increase in air travel and trade, enhances productivity, economic growth, and significantly contributes to globalization.