An Air China aircraft stands on the tarmac at the Beijing Capital International Airport, China, on October 13, 2020. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

Ministers of transport from China and Southeast Asian countries urged officials and work groups in the region to consider further easing air transportation restrictions as long as they take the coronavirus pandemic into consideration, according to media reports. 

China and many countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are pushing transport connectivity projects ranging from railways to ports, and the region is mounting efforts to reduce trade barriers after signing the world's largest trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 

According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), the ministers encouraged ASEAN countries to "expand the possibility of air transportation liberty" in order to further stimulate economic growth, as long as they consider the COVID-19 situation and the recovery pace of international air transport in those countries. 

Many Southeast Asian countries have halted flights with China as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but some of them are mulling resuming the flights as the pandemic recovers at a relatively fast pace in Asian economies. 

According to media reports, Thailand might restart flights to China, Japan and South Korea at the end of the year.

"With the signing of the RCEP, China's international flights with Southeast Asian countries will be sure to grow as the countries' economic interaction develops further," said Lin Zhijie, a market watcher from the Aviation Think Tank under the Civil Aviation Administration of China. 

But he said that a total resumption of pre-COVID19 flights is unlikely, at least in 2021, because of the lingering pandemic. 

The ministers also signed a joint document during the conference which reiterated the need for countries in the region to guarantee logistics transport and team up to deal with the pandemic.

The document also stressed that many transport projects between China and ASEAN countries have achieved "positive growth," such as the China-Laos railway and the Kuantan Port in Malaysia. 

Global Times