Four Chinese airlines agree to study St. Louis-China trade
St. Louis Business Journal
March 29, 2010
by Kelsey Volkmann
Four Chinese airlines have agreed to partner with the Midwest-China Hub Commission and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on a feasibility study to assess the potential for opening St. Louis-China freight routes.
St. Louis officials, including Mayor Francis Slay and commission Chairman Mike Jones, returned this weekend after a nine-day trip to China to court airlines and meet government and business leaders in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Haikou.
China's equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Civilian Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and four airlines, Air China, China Eastern, Jade and Hainan, each agreed to crunch numbers with Lambert and the Midwest-China Hub Commission to assess the potential for opening St. Louis/China cargo routes -- a move hailed as a "critical first step" by St. Louis leaders.
The talks included meetings with representatives of Chinese companies, including Huawei, a technology company, and Glory Real Estate, about trade and potentially setting up operations in St. Louis.
"We are trying to change the way China does business with the United States," Slay said in an interview Monday. "In the past, the Chinese engaged in trade on the edges on the east and west coasts. But it makes sense to do business from the center. We showed them maps and how 35 percent of the population is within 500 miles of St. Louis and that they can reach them pretty quickly through overnight haul."
As part of the study, some Chinese companies will visit St. Louis to examine the undeveloped land around Lambert and the area's highway, rail and river access.
Two of St. Louis' biggest competitors for Chinese cargo are Chicago and Dallas, Slay said.
The Chinese airlines told St. Louis officials that they spend a lot on fuel when planes have to circle a congested O'Hare International Airport in Chicago before getting clearance to land.
"The thing we are going to have to sell more than anything is reliability and on-time service," Slay said.
The trade plan will only work if there's cargo going both ways, he said.
"We want to get Chinese businesses to invest here and have businesses in the Midwest to invest in China," he said. "There's a huge untapped market in the Midwest. It's an opportunity for St. Louis to raise the level of our profile as a region internationally."
The commission's consultants, London-based 48 Group Club Chairman Stephen Perry and cargo expert Guenther Rohrmann, will work with Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge and the rest of the commission on the feasibility study.
"By the end of this year, we will have a much better feel for the likelihood of this happening," Slay said.
Local company officials and government leaders plan to return to China in August or September to help foster cultural exchanges about health care and agriculture.
