On July 5, Guangdong Post held a ceremony for the first "Guangzhou-Tokyo" flight of large wide body freighter in Huadu District. China Post, Guangdong Airport Authority, Guangzhou Airport Committee, Guangzhou Bureau of Commerce, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Customs, Huadu District, and air cargo related leading forwarders, platforms and manufacturing enterprises were present at the event.

　　Having "New Wings to the Aviation Hub and Sets Sail to the Northern Growth Pole" as its theme, the event witnessed addresses delivered by leaders of Huadu District, Guangzhou Airport Committee, Guangdong Airport Authority and Guangdong Post, in which they express their expectations for the freight routes to improve Guangzhou's international cargo export capacity. Guangdong Post gave a detailed introduction to route, explained the advantages of Guangdong Post's "Guangzhou-Tokyo" large wide-body freighter, which was a new international air route of Guangdong Post, and sincerely invited partners to participate in the building of Guangzhou international cargo aviation hub and contribute to the high-quality development of air logistics in Guangzhou. After an introduction to the guarantee plan by the logistics company of Guangdong Airport Authority, the participants of the event had in-depth exchanges on how to give full play to the advantages of Guangzhou international cargo aviation hub, and promote deep cooperation between logistics enterprises, e-commerce platforms and manufacturing enterprises, to help Guangzhou's high-quality development.

　　Another giant of the "air silk road”

　　In recent years, China Post has launched various projects regarding international freight routes. As of March this year, China Post has opened a number of international freight routes. With the landing of the first wide body freighter at Beijing Capital Airport, more international routes have been incorporated into China Post’s plan. From buying planes to building hubs and eventually to exploring new international freight routes, China Post has taken multiple measures at the same time, accelerating its investment in international logistics and transportation in addition to its focus on continued cultivation of domestic routes.

　　On August 25, 2021, Guangdong Post's "Guangzhou-Tokyo" international postal charter flight was officially put into operation. A cargo plane fully loaded with 15 tons of international mail took off from the runway and headed to Tokyo, Japan.

　　Two years later, after "expansion and upgrading” of "Guangzhou-Tokyo" postal airline, the second large wide-body cargo freighter of Guangdong Post International Airlines' will make its first "Guangzhou-Tokyo" flight on July 11. The schedule is three flights a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, together with another wide body freighter of the Shenzhen-Osaka route.

　　With this route, Guangdong Post has successfully built a daily route of all-freighter to Japan, with a capacity of 100 tons/day. Maintaining the four service characteristics of postal route, strong stability, independent operation, rich products and value-added services, and having such advantages as large capacity, competitive price and excellent ground service guarantee, it provides more sufficient capacity support for the construction of the "Air Silk Road". This is a solid step forward by Guangdong Post in its plan to build the postal international aviation network and the hub of the Greater Bay Area.

　　“Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is an important international aviation pillar for the country’s "Belt and Road" initiative and the 'Air Silk Road', and a core airport of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We will rely on Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to promote the high-quality development of Huadu’s aviation industry. Based on the postal hub centers of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we will connect to the global air cargo network and intercontinental postal services with large wide body freighters,” said Zheng Shuangyin, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Post.

　　"New momentum” to the development of aviation hub construction

　　In 2003, the largest postal aviation logistics hub with the highest technical level in China settled in the new Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport as a supporting project. As an important aviation hub of China Post, the center is entrusted with the main responsibilities of distribution of air mail in South China and the customs clearance of international mail in Guangzhou Customs jurisdiction.

　　In September this year, the international air transshipment center will be put into operation, which is a 10,000-square meters project jointly built by Guangdong Post and Guangdong Airport Authority. The completion of the transshipment center will for the first time integrate the postal processing sites and the airside cargo terminals at the airport, which will optimize the international mail delivery, improve the efficiency of mail shipment, and further enhance the capacity of the international aviation hub.

　　Relevant agencies of the state have been vigorously promoting the development of the aviation logistics industry in recent years; and the successive introduction of a series of new policies releases a stronger signal that the state encourages the development of industry. The policy under the name of "Several Measures of Huadu District to Promote the High-quality Development of Air Cargo Industry" issued by Huadu District provides strong support for the development of air logistics.

　　In November 2022, the "Guangzhou Airport-type National Logistics Hub Construction Plan" jointly submitted by Guangzhou Airport Committee and Guangdong Airport Authority was successfully included in the construction list of national logistics hubs in 2022, adding new momentum to the construction of Guangzhou international cargo aviation hub and to the high-quality development of Guangzhou airport economy. According to the plan, Guangzhou airport-type national logistics hub will build an Asia-Pacific aviation logistics center on the basis of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and comprehensive bonded zone, and coordinate with national logistics hubs in neighboring regions to build an aviation logistics portal network that serves the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with international influence.

　　Information shows that Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is now operating more than 60 cargo routes, covering more than 230 navigation points around the world and accounting for nearly one-third of the total air cargo in the Greater Bay Area. In 2022, its cargo and mail traffic reached 1.8845 million tons, ranking second among domestic airports for three consecutive years since 2020.

　　The Airport is currently accelerating the third-phase expansion, which includes the construction of multiple air cargo terminals. Upon completion of the third-phase project, the Airport will emerge as a more powerful hub airport, and finally realize the planned layout of 5 runways and 2 terminal areas, including two cargo areas in the east and the west; and the cargo terminal area of the Airport will increase from 500,000 square meters at present to over 1 million square meters by 2025, with a terminal cargo and mail traffic capacity of 6 million tons.

　　Tap into the "new power source"

　　and create a new economic highland based on airport hub

　　On December 26, 2021, the 12th Party Congress of Guangzhou decided to "build the area around Baiyun International Airport into a new growth pole". On April 21, 2023, the Committee of Comprehensively Deepening Reforms of the CPC Guangzhou Committee printed and issued the Implementation Opinions on Supporting Huadu District to Build a Growth Pole in the North of Guangzhou, which clearly required to give full play to the role of the airport as a "power source" and build Huadu into a growth pole in the north of Guangzhou.

　　The Implementation Opinions emphasized on the cultivation and expansion of airport industrial clusters. Based on Baiyun International Airport and the vast industrial space around the airport, efforts would be made to actively introduce a "3+4"-patterned seven industrial clusters. Focusing on 2025, 2030 and 2035 as important landmarks, Huadu will implement a three-step strategy of "building a strong transportation hub - expanding the economic hub - building a highland of opening up". Taking the building of "big logistics" as an important lever, the District will create a "national logistics hub-based economic demonstration zone", promote Baiyun International Airport and Nansha Port to set off-site cargo terminals at each other, study the Datian-Airport North intermodal transport channel, and explore the construction of railway-water intermodal transport terminals at Guangzhou International Port (Datian Station). Huadu will strive to build itself into an international comprehensive transportation hub, a new hub-type economic highland, a new platform of opening up in the Greater Bay Area, and a world-class aviation metropolis.

　　Ready for takeoff. It is expected that by 2035, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will further stand out as an international air and rail hub, with a passenger traffic of 120 million person-times, a cargo and mail traffic of 3.8 million tons; the passenger traffic of Guangzhou North Railway Station will reach 40 million; and a stronger agglomeration effect will be realized to form an airport industrial cluster of more than 300 billion yuan. The energy level of the international cargo aviation hub will be greatly improved, and the beautiful blueprint of the growth pole of northern Guangzhou will also become a reality.