While airlines the world over clamber to avoid bankruptcy by focusing their operations on cargo, a new operator in China has just been launched that shines a light on the country’s ambitions for an “Aerial Silk Road” that will join the Belt & Road Initiative.
当世界各地的航空公司都在通过将业务重点放在货运上来避免破产时，中国刚刚成立了一家新的运营商，这凸显了该国将加入“一带一路”倡议的“空中丝绸之路”的雄心。
On 26 April, in Henan Province’s capital city of Zhengzhou, Central Airlines (中州航空; Zhongzhou Aviation) held a ceremony marking its operation certification. The cargo-only airline is the first and only airline to start up during the coronavirus outbreak.
4月26日，中州航空在河南省省会郑州举行运营取证仪式。这家纯货运航空公司是第一家也是唯一一家在冠状病毒爆发期间开业的航空公司。
Not that the decision to make the airline a cargo-only operation had anything to do with the epidemic. Its roots had been sown some time ago. The operator took delivery of its inaugural aircraft in mid November of last year, a Boeing 737-300(F) formerly in service with Shanghai-based Suparna Airlines.
这并不是说该航空公司决定只从事货运业务与该流行病有任何关系。它的根早在不久前就已种下。该运营商于去年 11 月中旬接收了其首架飞机，这是一架波音 737-300(F)，此前曾在上海金鹏航空运营。
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Central Airlines’ base of operations in Zhengzhou is also far from a coincidence. As the first Comprehensive Airport Economic Experiment Zone approved by the State, Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is focused on building an international cargo hub.
中央航空在郑州设立运营基地也绝非巧合。作为国家批准的首个综合性空港经济实验区，郑州新郑国际机场着力打造国际货运枢纽。
As long ago as June, 2017, General Secretary, Xi Jinping, when meeting with Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bethel, clearly pointed out that the two sides should deepen cooperation in finance and production capacity within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, reported Science and Technology Daily.
据科技日报报道，早在2017年6月，习近平总书记在会见卢森堡首相贝塞尔时就明确指出，双方要在“一带一路”框架内深化金融、产能合作。
In September of that year, the Henan Provincial Government issued the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg Silk Road construction plan, proposing the development concept of such a dual hub. Dubbed the Aerial Silk Road, the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg link as an aerial economic corridor connecting East Asia and Europe, would in effect be a blueprint for the development of the Aerial Silk Road.
当年9月，河南省政府印发《郑州-卢森堡丝绸之路建设规划》，提出“双枢纽”发展理念。郑州至卢森堡被称为“空中丝绸之路”，作为连接东亚和欧洲的空中经济走廊，实际上将成为空中丝绸之路的发展蓝图。
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More recently, on 24 March of this year, China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, chaired an executive meeting of the State Council to deploy and further enhance China’s international air cargo capacity, notes the story reporting the Central Airlines certification on its website.
最近，中国总理李克强于今年3月24日主持召开国务院常务会议，部署并进一步增强中国国际航空货运能力，其网站上报道了中央航空公司的认证。
Central Airlines is owned by two directors of the company, Zhan Yang and Song Shengli, together with Henan Zhongzhou Tengfei International Freight Forwarding Co.
中央航空由该公司两名董事詹阳和宋胜利与河南中州腾飞国际货运代理有限公司共同拥有。
The operator plans to initially serve cities all over China with air cargo and mail flights from Zhengzhou, moving on to develop an international network as its fleet of aircraft grows.
该运营商计划首先通过从郑州出发的航空货运和邮件航班为中国各地城市提供服务，并随着机队规模的扩大逐步发展国际网络。
