Ke Xiping, member of the 13th CPPCC national committee from Fujian province, proposes building Xiamen into an international aviation hub during the annual political consultative meeting in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadailty.com.cn]

Xiamen should construct an international aviation hub to support the building of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, said Ke Xiping, member of the 13th CPPCC national committee from Fujian province.

Ke continued by saying that Xiamen would be ideal for this kind of development, as the city has the support of the central government and would become a strategic point along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It would also be a well operated airport serving multiple verified aviation industries, such as Xiamen Airlines, which is headquartered in the city.

Ke suggested that Xiamen promote a visa-free policy for transit passengers travelling between Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, Europe and America, and that Xiamen airports increase its number of direct flights to Europe and America, as well as to open new routes to countries in South Asia and the Middle East.