Australia, China agree to open up aviation markets

Australian and Chinese governments have reached an agreement to open up the aviation market between the two countries, Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo said in a statement on Sunday. The statement said the new arrangements will remove all capacity restrictions between Australia and China for each country's airlines, allowing Australian tourism businesses to take advantage of the largest and fastest growing consumer market in the world.

"We have also liberalized traffic rights and code share arrangements, which are important for Australian airlines. This will enable Australian and Chinese airlines to service destinations between and beyond both countries, and will allow them to take full advantage of their cooperative arrangements with their commercial alliance partners," said Chester.

The two countries have seen a boom in direct flights in recent months. Air China, Chinas national flag carrier, started its Chengdu-Sydney route in November, while China Southern Airline is expected to begin its Guangzhou-Adelaide service in December. Australia's flag carrier Qantas also announced that it will relaunch its daily service from Sydney to Beijing in January.