The city of Nantong in Jiangsu province is expected to develop even faster after the State Council approved Xingdong Airport to serve international flights.

The airport will first launch flights to Japan and South Korea considering the growing number of businessmen from these two countries to Nantong, the city government spokesman said at a press conference on March 23.

Regional flights such as those from Taiwan will also be introduced soon, the spokesman added.

Built in 1993, Xingdong Airport was one of the earliest in the province. An extension was built in 2014 to serve travelers making international journeys.

Passengers boarding a plane at Xingdong Airport. [Provided?to China Daily]

“Opening Xingdong Airport to the world will help us seize opportunities in such State strategies like the One Belt and One Road initiatives and thus play an important role in promoting the city’s sustainable economic and social development,” said Gu Shuying, head of Nantong’s bureau of commerce.

The national initiatives refer to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

Gu said the move will help Nantong integrate with the world better and faster.

“Now that our airport is open to the outside world, we can provide a better platform to attract human resources and help local companies go global. Nantong as a city will have a broader horizon.

“To put it in a simple way, it is easier for resources from other parts of the world to flow into Nantong, and it is easier for products made in Nantong to sell in other parts of the world.”

Statistics show Nantong used $2 billion to $3 billion in foreign capital each year since the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15). Experts expect that figure to increase in the coming years.

Nantong already has two river ports, two coastal ports and one land port, and the expanded airport will facilitate the city’s business exchanges with other countries, they said.

Experts said it will also help create an effective and sound business environment and improve Nantong’s reputation as an international investment destination.

Thanks to Nantong’s location in the Yangtze River Delta, Xingdong Airport was been designated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to support airports in Shanghai.

That means the airport has an increasingly important role in such national strategies as the economic integration of the Yangtze River Delta, said Chen Lin, Xingdong Airport’s general manager.

Chen said the airport’s strategic importance is also believed to fuel many industries that will become new powerhouses of local economic development.

Air transport and airplane maintenance will gather momentum, Chen said. In addition, modern service sectors ranging from logistics management and cross-border e-commerce to inspection and testing will see rapid development and thus improve local industrial structure, he said.

Contact the writers at lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn