Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines found cargo carrier in China

Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines found cargo carrier in China    Chinese carrier Shenzhen Airlines and Germany’s Lufthansa Cargo have set up what is believed to be the first carrier with foreign participation in the Chinese airline market.
   Named “Jade Cargo International,” the airline is a joint venture company between Shenzhen Airlines, with a 51-percent stake, Lufthansa Cargo (25 percent share) and the German investment company Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (24 percent share).
   A spokesman for Lufthansa Cargo said joint ventures in China have to be structured so that Chinese partners own a majority of the venture, as is the case with Jade Cargo International.
   The new carrier's headquarters is located at the Chinese hub of Shenzhen, the fourth biggest airport in China. Rudolf Tewes has been appointed general manager of Jade Cargo International.
   The airline will begin operations after the Chinese New Year festival in February. It will provide airport-to-airport general cargo services for intra-Asian and other international forwarders.
   Besides destinations within China, it will initially serve intra-Asia routings to countries such as India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand with two Airbus A300-600 freighters. Later, in a second phase, it will extend its route network to other destinations beyond Asia, Lufthansa Cargo said.
   “The founding of Jade Cargo is a milestone in Chinese aviation industry and a further step in the internationalization of the Chinese air cargo business,” said Dong Lijia, chairman of Jade Cargo International and general manager of Shenzhen Airlines.
   Lufthansa Cargo also has two ground-handling joint ventures, in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with Chinese partners.