China reopens to more foreign airlines after coronavirus lockdown

China will allow more foreign airlines to resume flights to its cities, in a move that comes a day after the US government threatened to bar Chinese carriers if the country did not reopen to American passenger aircraft. Foreign airlines that were at present unable to send international flights into China would now be able to fly to one city each week from Monday next week, the country’s transport regulator said on Thursday.  The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not refer to specific countries. But it said the measures would apply to any foreign airlines not included in a plan unveiled in March that rationed international flights. That plan barred US carriers from mainland China. Tensions between Beijing and Washington over passenger air traffic have escalated over recent months, at a time when international flights have fallen sharply because of the coronavirus pandemic. China’s announcement follows a US decision on Wednesday to ban the country’s passenger airlines from June 16 if Beijing did not lift restrictions on American carriers. The US said it would be “fully prepared to revisit the action” if China allowed access. Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, said Beijing regretted Washington’s decision but was in conversations to reach a resolution.<br/>