Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has concluded an expanded air transport agreement with China.
The amendments to the agreement gives airlines the flexibility to offer more travel options and help Canadian airports attract new flight links, which will help to create economic opportunities in Canada and China.
“Our government is focused on jobs, growth and concrete ways to increase trade and tourism,” said Baird. “This agreement is good news for travellers, shippers and Canada’s aviation industry as a whole.”
Bilateral trade with China reached record levels in 2012, and China is now Canada’s second-largest export destination after the United States.
“Increasing ties with the Asia-Pacific region is absolutely vital to Canada’s future prosperity,” said Baird. “Our government gets that in a way no previous government has. This [agreement] is just the latest example of that.”
Baird made the announcement while on his eighth visit to China in July 2013, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.
