BEIJING -
Businesspeople in both Iraq and China would
welcome direct flights between Guangzhou and
Baghdad, according to visitors at a Guangzhou
trade fair. Direct, weekly flights between the two
cities are being discussed at the moment, although
there has been no announcement about when they
would begin.
Abu Salhi, an Iraqi who is
attending the ongoing 99th Chinese Export
Commodities Fair, said the flights would help
trade between the two countries. The businessman,
who runs a
wholesale firm for small
electrical appliances in Iraq, said Chinese goods
were very popular in Iraq.
"If the flights
take place, it will help many Iraqi business
people save time and money," he said. Salhi visits
the fair's twice-yearly exhibitions seeking
durable and affordable China-made products.
Quoting Zaid al-Sarraf, deputy director
general of the Iraqi Airways, Iraq's state
carrier, Xinhua News Agency said recently that
Iraq had approved the flights. The report said the
Rafidain Company, a private firm, would operate
weekly flights from Baghdad to Guangzhou. A
roundtrip ticket could cost around US$1,300, with
a one-way ticket priced at US$700.
Salhi
said he currently had to fly to China via a third
country, such as Jordan, Turkey or the United Arab
Emirates.
There have been no direct
flights between Iraq and China since the Gulf War
in 1990. Iraqi Airways used to operate a direct
flight between Baghdad and Beijing on a weekly
basis before 1990. Salhi said the flights would be
more important for Iraqi business people, as many
more travel to China than vice versa.
But
the Iraqi's opinion was shared by Gong Xiehong, a
businessman from South China's Guangdong province. Gong
runs a firm that manufactures small electrical
appliances, including vacuum cleaners, and washing
machines and dryers in Foshan's Shunde District.
"My products sell like hotcakes in the Middle
East," Gong said. "I think I will be able to sell
more in Iraq when the country is more peaceful and
direct flights begin."
Qi Yaoming, of
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co Ltd,
confirmed that negotiations with the Iraqi airline
were taking place, but would not say when the
flights would begin.
