A Boeing 787-9 passenger jet of Air China  File photo: IC

China and France reached consensus on Wednesday that flights between the two countries should be resumed as soon as possible, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

According to the statement, consensus was reached in the course of an official dialogue between Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, and Emmanuel Bonne, Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of France. 

The flights between China and France were experiencing disruption among policy uncertainties. On Monday France slashed the number of inbound flights carried by Chinese airlines to only one per week, in a move that it said will "address the imbalance in flights."

Air China flight CA934, which was scheduled to fly from Paris to Beijing on Wednesday, was cancelled shortly after the announcement from the French government.

Originally three airlines, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, were each allowed to run a weekly flight from a Chinese city to Paris. Air France is accordingly allowed to run three flights to China, with one to Shanghai and two to other cities. The application for a second flight to Shanghai is currently in progress, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in France. 

International flights have been weighed on under the impact of COVID-19. China first imposed the "Five One" policy in March to restrict international travel for coronavirus containment, under which only one flight can be carried by one airline from each country to China. The policy was adjusted in June, allowing for more international airlines to fly to China. 

Global Times