USTDA AWARDS AVIATION TRAINING GRANT AT U.S.-CHINA JOINT COMMISSION ON COMMERCE AND TRADE MEETING
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USTDA Awards Aviation Training Grant at U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Meeting
BEIJING, CHINA (December 10, 2007) – Today, USTDA Acting Director Leocadia I. Zak signed an agreement with China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited to provide management, leadership and airline marketing training in support of China Eastern's procurement of the General Electric Company’s (GE) GEnx aircraft engines. The program will be provided by GE and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Dallas, Texas.
USTDA awarded this $560,000 grant to China Eastern Airlines in support of their procurement of 34 GEnx aircraft engines that will power the airline’s new fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft. USTDA Acting Director Zak and China Eastern Airlines' Chief Pilot Shu Mingjiang signed an agreement to officially confer the grant.
The signing took place prior to the opening of the 18th Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). Acting Director Zak is participating as part of the U.S. government delegation to the JCCT led by the Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
"USTDA is pleased to support China Eastern Airlines' selection of General Electric engines to outfit their new Boeing 787 aircraft. This grant represents another successful outcome of our partnership on the development of China's aviation sector," said USTDA Acting Director Zak.
More broadly, the USTDA grant supports the objectives of the U.S.-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), an innovative public-private initiative linking the U.S. and Chinese governments and aviation industries in a multi-faceted program to promote technical, policy and commercial cooperation between the Chinese and U.S. aviation sectors.
Since 2001, USTDA has funded over 90 activities supporting important development objectives in China. The agency's China program targets development projects that represent opportunities for U.S. commercial involvement in the areas of transportation, energy, the environment, and other priorities.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.
