The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said that the presence of China’s national air carrier, Air China, demonstrates China’s confidence in the Philippines’ aviation facilities.

Chinese Embassy Counselor Wu Zhengping, in his message during the appreciation dinner in celebration of the inaugural launch of Air China’s first direct flight between Beijing and Manila, said, “I think the presence of Air China demonstrates confidence in the aviation facility of the Philippines.”

“China has always viewed the Philippines as a good neighbor, good friend, and a reliable partner. In recent years, bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two countries developed [further],” he noted.

It was recalled that Chinese tourists in the Philippines was pegged at 220,000, which is a 37-percent increase from 2008. There had been 160,000 Chinese tourists who flocked the country in 2008.

Most Chinese tourists travel by family and the highest number of Chinese tourists is from the middle-age group. Chinese are the fourth largest and fastest-growing source of tourists in the Philippines. On the other hand, there were 750,000 Filipinos who visited China in 2009, making the Philippines China’s seventh largest source of tourists.

“The Philippines is a unique country with more than 90 million warm, hospitable people, and a continuously growing economy,” Wu said. “Needless to say, Air China is in the Philippines at the right time… It can contribute to even stronger economic and cultural ties as well as deepen friendship between our people.”

Air China flies three times a week from Beijing: every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, departing from the Beijing Capital Airport at 8 p.m. and arriving at 12:55 a.m. the next day while its flight from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport is at 6:30 a.m. every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, arriving in Beijing at 11:10 a.m. using Boeing 737 -800.

Air China’s inaugural flight was on March 29, 2010 and is the 10th direct route operated by Air China to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (FTA). China’s FTA with ASEAN countries, including the Philippines entered into force on January 1, 2010.

“The reason we chose Manila as the new destination is that Manila is the capital and the largest city of the Philippines, as well as the economic, cultural and communications center, a city with abundant tourism resources,” Air China said in a statement.

“Beijing is a modern city with profound cultural deposit. With famous places of interest, Beijing is attracting more and more tourists from home and abroad. The opening of the Beijing – Manila route will boost exchanges between our two nations, contribute to the communication of economy, trade, and culture between our two countries, and strengthen the friendship between our people,” it added.