Top lawmakers urge caution in approving more flights between US, China 

A pair of lawmakers is urging top administration officials to execute caution in approving additional flights between the United States and China.

Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday raised worries about unfair market practices they said China is engaging in and security concerns with airlines flying through Russian airspace. 

The lawmakers said that after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, China suspended its bilateral services agreement with the U.S. and “effectively” closed the market to U.S. carriers. The pair said more flights should not be approved until China abides by the agreement and passenger demand “begins to recover.”

“Although the PRC lifted its zero-COVID policy last year, the administration must ensure that U.S. aviation workers, air travelers and airlines are not harmed by unfair competition from China,” the lawmakers wrote, using the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

They also said that while U.S. carriers have stopped flying through Russian airspace during that country’s war with Ukraine, China has continued to use Russian airspace.

The lawmakers said Americans “should not unknowingly be subject to the risks associated with traveling through Russian airspace” and called on China to end the practice.

“Should the U.S.-China passenger carrier market expand without the U.S. government addressing these significant issues, U.S. aviation workers, travelers and airlines will pay a hefty price tag,” the lawmakers wrote.

“The U.S. must continue to give China the opportunity to follow the terms of the previous bilateral agreement, but the current conditions should also allow negotiating leverage that has not existed historically,” they continued.

The Transportation Department declined to comment.

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.