Choice of Shanghai for next global aviation conference, a ‘nudge’ towards opening China’s borders, airline body’s CEO says

Industry body CEO Willie Walsh says decision shows China is a central part of global aviation system and strategically important to all airlines

China Eastern Airlines chief ‘keen’ to showcase Shanghai’s transformation in the two decades since it became first Chinese city to host annual event

Reading Time:3 minutes

Shanghai was the first Chinese city to host the annual conference two decades ago and will now host it again in June 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:48pm, 6 Oct 2021Updated: 2:07pm, 6 Oct 2021

The head of the aviation industry’s main lobbying group has “nudged” China towards reopening its borders, noting the strategic importance of the country’s huge air-travel market to airlines the world over struggling to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Those hopes were underscored by the global industry group’s selection of Shanghai as host city for its June 2022 gathering of industry executives – two decades after it became the first Chinese city to host the annual conference.

Willie Walsh, director general and CEO of the 290-member airline International Air Transport Association (IATA), said he hoped the group’s decision to accept the invite from China Eastern Airlines would gently “nudge” the country into reopening its borders.

Willie Walsh, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association. Photo: Reuters

“This is a demonstration of how China is a central part of the global aviation system,” Walsh said of the venue selection.

The Chinese mainland remains virtually closed off to non-residents, likewise Hong Kong and Macau.