China's Air Mail Sector Restructured

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 ◆ China's Air Mail Sector Restructured

China Post Aviation Company, formerly fully controlled by the State Post Bureau, is to be restructured to sharpen its competitive edge.

According to an agreement signed recently, China Southern Airlines will buy a 49 percent stake in the new company, and the State Post Bureau will control the other 51 percent.

State Post Bureau director Liu Liqing said the restructuring would accelerate the expansion of China's air mail express transport sector in the face of increasing competition following the opening up of air transport in the wake of China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

The new company will buy more airplanes and increase domestic and international flights. It will also buy special airplanes for transporting mail at night and passengers in the daytime.

"We are in fair weather, but we prepare for foul," said Guan Rongshun, general manager of the new company, stressing that the move would increase the international competitiveness of the company.

"Although the air mail transport sector has not yet been opened to foreign investors, we should be farsighted," he added.

The restructuring is part of the reform of China's civil aviation sector, said Bao Peide, deputy director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.