U.S., China Schedule Next Round Of Talks In Beijing

The U.S. next month plans to send a delegation to Beijing for the first of possibly several rounds of bilateral talks with China in the hope of eventually negotiating an open-skies deal.

The U.S. and China will meet April 19-20, and the first round of talks is not expected to yield a breakthrough agreement, but instead will "set the framework" for future meetings, said John Byerly, U.S. State Dept. deputy assistant secretary for transportation. He told The DAILY yesterday that the U.S. is "seeking to achieve open skies with a liberal transition period." It's not yet clear on China's position and whether it will be eager to liberalize the 2004 agreement. Tom Engle, State's director of aviation negotiations will chair the U.S. delegation, and Ed Oppler will represent the Transportation Dept.

The April meeting should not come as a surprise as the proposal was part of the 2004 agreement. Both sides decided to resume talks sometime in 2006 to "review our aviation relationship and seek further progress on liberalizing this agreement," DOT Secretary Norman Mineta said in the summer of 2004, when the agreement was signed. The agreement allowed five additional airlines from each country to serve the U.S.-China market.

Continental launched service to Beijing last year, and American next month will start Chicago-Shanghai service. Delta is hoping to win the 2008 designation and has been lobbying for the U.S. government to award the 2008 service ahead of schedule in 2007.