REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
U.S -CHINA AIR TRANSPORT AGREEMENT SIGNING REMARKS
SEATTLE, WA
JULY 9, 2007
1:30 PM
Hello, and thank you all for being here on this exciting day. I would like to
thank Minister Yang for joining us today, and for his many efforts in helping
reach this important accord.
I also would like to thank the folks here at SeaTac airport for hosting us
today. I know that you are smack in the middle of your busiest time – the summer
travel season – and I appreciate your hospitality. As one of America’s best
gateways to the Pacific, I cannot think of a better place to sign the new U.S.
China air services agreement.
As both our countries have grown and prospered, our economic relationship has
become inextricably linked together. In few places is that more evident than
here in Washington state, where trade with China reaches into the billions every
year.
That is why agreements like the one we are signing today are so important. With
our economies so reliant on each other, we must take every opportunity to make
it easier to do business and more convenient to stay connected.
The agreement will double the number of passenger flights between the U.S. and
China, and allow for an unlimited number of cargo flights between our two
countries.
Our goal is to make it flying from Seattle to China as easy as flying to New
York or Boston today.
This agreement also will give companies here in the Seattle-Tacoma area more
opportunities to do business in China than ever before. By providing more and
cheaper shipping choices to China, this agreement will make it easier for
companies across the state – whether they sell paper, software, aircraft or
coffee – to tap into China’s enormous market.
This accord will generate for the airline industry as much as $5 billion in
passenger and cargo revenues over the next six years – revenue that can be used
to hire more crews, invest in new technology, and buy more aircraft.
All told, this agreement will generate as much as $8 billion of new economic
activity in the United States. And, few cities stand to benefit from this
agreement as much as Seattle, with its global companies, thriving international
trade, and its many world travelers.
It is not every day that a simple signature will unleash billions in new
economic activity, but that is exactly what we are about to do.
The ink we are putting on paper today will mean real dollars to both our
countries, and I am honored to have this opportunity and proud of the hard work
on both sides that made this day a reality.
Thank you again, Minister Yang, for your and your team’s hard work and tenacious
effort – we would not be here today without it. Minister Yang….
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Briefing
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