A view of a construction site of China-Thailand High-Speed Railway in Bangkok Photo: Courtesy of China State Construction Engineering Corporation

China Southern Airlines announced on Monday that it will further increase the number of flights connecting China and ASEAN countries, in order to meet surging demand from businesses and consumers.

Qu Guangji, deputy general manager of China Southern Airlines, said during the third China-ASEAN Civil Aviation Cooperation Forum at the 20th China-ASEAN Expo held in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that the company had 17 routes in the China-ASEAN market carrying 1.408 million passengers as of August.

"As Guangxi is an important market for us, we will keep focusing on major flight routes in Guangxi, and enhance coordination among Nanning, Guilin and Beihai, building Nanning into a regional operation center," said Qu.

A representative from the Guangxi Airport Group said on August 3 that Nanning Wuxu International Airport will resume passenger flights to the capitals of the 10 members of ASEAN before the opening of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

As for cargo, Nanning Wuxu International Airport operated 15 international freight routes as of August 3, reaching 16 cities in the 10 member countries of ASEAN and in South Asia, said the report. 

During the forum, 15 enterprises and organizations from China and ASEAN, including the China Air Transport Association, China Southern Airlines, Air Asia and Singapore Aviation Academy, signed an agreement to establish a communication center to facilitate China-ASEAN civil aviation cooperation.

From 1991 to 2021, the number of ASEAN cities connecting to Chinese cities via flight routes increased from six to 44, and the number of flight routes increased from 10 to 671, Hu Zhenjiang, an official of Civil Aviation Administration of China, said during the first cooperation forum held on September 11, 2021.