The MOU was signed in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, by Mr Yam Kum Weng, CAG’s Executive Vice President, Air Hub Development, and Mr Yue Wenhai, Office Director of HCADCC. Mr Yue is also the Vice Secretary-General of The People's Government of Henan Province and General Manager of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport.

Besides working towards establishing direct flights between Singapore and Henan, both parties will work together to support airlines and promote the air routes when these are established. In addition to route development, the MOU covers tourism cooperation and airport collaboration. For instance, both CAG and HCADCC will support their respective tourism authorities in promoting bilateral tourism flows and to strengthen tourism links through joint marketing efforts.

Commenting on the MOU, Mr Yam, said, “There is great potential to grow traffic between Singapore and China’s non-coastal cities, beyond the major Chinese gateways of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Henan has one of the fastest economic growth among China’s six Central Provinces (Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Anhui). With strong economic growth and trade volumes, Henan Province presents growing business opportunities, and with higher incomes, a greater demand for travel. This MOU paves the way for CAG and our Henan counterparts to collaborate to tap this potential.”

In recent years, air travel and connectivity between Singapore and China has grown. Passenger movements registered strong growth of 22% to 2.5 million between the two countries for the first nine months of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. As at 1 October 2010, Changi Airport is connected to 24 cities in China, up from 18 cities four years ago. Currently, there are more than 380 weekly flights connecting Singapore and China.