A model of an Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane during a recent expo in Shanghai. CHINA DAILY
Ethiopian Airlines is expanding its cargo network and airport partnerships in China, as it bets on growing China-Africa trade, rising cross-border e-commerce and Beijing's expanded zero-tariff access for African imports to sustain long-term freight growth, company executives told China Daily.
China, Africa's largest trading partner, has become the airline's top strategic cargo market globally, accounting for more than 40 percent of international transit cargo handled through its Addis Ababa hub, Dereje Derero, managing director of cargo and logistics services at Ethiopian Airlines, said in an interview.
"The Chinese market has the highest strategic priority in our global cargo business over the next three to five years," Derero said.
The strategic expansion comes as China deepens economic ties with Africa. Since May 1, China has extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, widening a policy previously limited to the continent's least-developed economies.
