China intensifying efforts to launch fifth-freedom freight air routes to forge int'l air cargo hubs

China's airlines are stepping up efforts to launch fifth-freedom freight air routes in a bid to forge international air cargo hubs.

A fifth-freedom flight is one where an airline company from one country or region, when running an international service, gets permission to make a stopover in a third country and take on passengers and cargo.

"Launching a fifth-freedom flight air route will benefit logistics companies by allowing them to better utilize their cargo space so as to improve space utilization rates. Through its logistics network, cargo can be received from and delivered to various countries, thus forming an efficiently utilized logistics network," said Zhong Shan, an economist from the Institute of Air Transport of China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology.

On the early morning of Friday, Sichuan Airlines 3U9613, loaded with a batch of e-commerce packages, flew from the provincial capital city of Chengdu to Frankfurt in Germany. This marks Chengdu's first outbound all-cargo route to Northern Europe, and it is one of Sichuan Air Logistics' fifth-freedom freight air routes.

After making a stopover in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, the plane unloaded 18 tonnes of e-commerce packages. After getting reloaded with 7 tonnes of machinery equipment, the plane continued its flight heading for Frankfurt.

"The plane can freely load and unload cargo at three airports and flexibly allocate cargo destinations, enriching the supply of product combinations for different routes, which increases the overall cargo space availability and improves the actual utilization rate of the cargo space," said Zhao Zihu, manager of the freight air service sales department at Sichuan Air Logistics marketing management center.

In 2024, Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in east China's Zhejiang Province, Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport in east China's Shandong Province, Haikou Meilan International Airport in south China's Hainan Province, and Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China's Hubei Province launched their fifth-freedom freight air routes. These routes connect intercontinental long-haul routes with Asian and domestic routes, extending the transport range and supporting industries with high time-sensitivity requirements, such as fresh produce and cross-border e-commerce imports and exports.

China intensifying efforts to launch fifth-freedom freight air routes to forge int'l air cargo hubs

The Syrian government and people have roundly welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to lift all sanctions against Syria, with many believing it will give a major boost to the conflict-ravaged country's recovery from years of civil war.

Trump announced during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that he would remove the long-standing sanctions on Syria, with the Syrian foreign ministry welcoming the move as a "pivotal turning point for the Syrian people".

Another significant moment came on Wednesday when Trump held a face-to-face meeting with Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Saudi capital Riyadh -- marking the first encounter between a U.S. president and a Syrian leader in decades -- with the two discussing the normalization of bilateral ties.

Prior to Trump's announcement, the Syrian foreign ministry noted that the long-imposed sanctions, which originally applied to the former government, were still having a direct impact on the Syrian people and had hindered efforts to facilitate the country's post-war recovery and reconstruction.

The news of the removal of all U.S. punitive measures was immediately met with an outpouring of joy in Syria, with large crowds taking to the streets of Damascus and elsewhere in the country to celebrate.

The Syrian pound also reportedly gained in value following Trump's decision.

Ziad Arabsh, an economic consultant for the Syrian government, said the U.S. move has now cleared a major obstacle to Syria's economic recovery and post-war reconstruction efforts.

"The access of Syria to the world technology is extremely vital to rebuild the long years [of] destroyed infrastructure, and this will lead to the economy [being boosted] and help Syria in [its] reconstruction instead of sliding into fragmentation," Arabsh said in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Damascus.

Trump's surprise announcement came on the first day of his four-day whirlwind tour across the Middle East, which has seen him visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar before he is expected to conclude the trip in the United Arab Emirates.

Trump's remarks about the sanctions relief and his meeting with al-Sharaa came at a time when the new leadership in Damascus is striving to rally international support for the country to cope with extreme challenges after over a decade of conflict and economic hardship.

Syrians welcome Trump's announcement to lift all sanctions