The seventh Beijing Global Friend Airports CEO Forum took place in Beijing Capital Airport on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Liu Xuesong, general manager of Capital Airport Holding Company, revealed the plan for Beijing Daxing International Airport to become a major airport for Northeast Asia's cargo transportation. According to Liu, the airport, which opened in late September, would respond to growing demand from the global aviation industry and especially Northeast Asia by providing more air cargo capacity and opening more popular routes.

Liu said 240 million passengers will pass through airports in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2025. And the recently opened Daxing International Airport will build more connections between China and the world, especially with the countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. It will also encourage international political, economic, and cultural exchanges. For instance, the airport will open direct flights from Beijing to Casablanca (Morocco), Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), and Kathmandu (Nepal), with more flights added from Beijing to Paris as well. Meanwhile, Daxing Airport will build up its transferring capabilities to meet the needs of passengers.

In recent years, Beijing Capital Airport has stopped adding new cargo flights due to capacity—cargo on passenger flights is accounting for more than 80% of the airport's total cargo transport. Daxing Airport, therefore, is set to open the Chinese aviation industry to a new world, where air cargo transport capability and services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will be enhanced tremendously. With better aviation service, optimized industrial structure, and growing aviation economy, Daxing Airport will serve as an engine for regional economic growth and global trading, Liu said.

China's civil aviation takes up 32.8% of all the means of transport, with 320 million passengers, according to Lyu Erxue, deputy director of CAAC. The newly published "Guidebook for A Civil Aviation Powerhouse in the New Era" predicts that, by 2035, China will own 450 airports, with 3 billion passenger passing through airports and averaging one trip per Chinese citizen annually. The total passenger throughput of Chinese civil aviation is expected to surpass that of the U.S. in 2025, Lyu cited estimations from the International Air Transport Association.

Initiated by Beijing Capital Airport to promote dialogue in the worldwide aviation industry, the forum attracted about 300 attendees representing the Beijing municipal government, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), five international aviation organizations, 22 foreign airports, 19 domestic airports, and 17 domestic and foreign airliners.

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