Chongqing Mayor Wang Hongju and Executive Deputy Mayor Huang Qifan met with senior adviser of Shenzhen Airlines Mr Li Zeyuan in April and discussed their mutual interest in developing Chongqing as the air cargo hub in China’s interior. Following computer manufacturer HP’s plan to build a 4m notebook production line in Chongqing last year, Chongqing is expecting a substantial increase in air cargo volumes. Shenzhen Airline, the largest privately-owned airline and the fifth largest in China, has a controlling stake in Changzhou airport and manages Wuxi airport along the Yangtze corridor. It has been active in searching for new targets, having recently signed a framework agreement with Jiangxi to develop Nanchang airport.

In another development, Chongqing Municipal Economic Commission director Mr Wu Bing announced that the city is well on the way to recovery. Among the major signs, he said that orders in the machinery sector have increased to full load and the shipbuilding sector had secured orders worth more than Rmb8bn. The consumption of electricity has started to rise, with the first three months up 1.12 per cent on the previous quarter to nearly 9.3bn megawatts.