Two planes sent to China return to Canada empty, Geng Shuang: relevant reports to be inaccurate

2020-04-23 02:00

During the regular press conference of Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson on April 22,2020, some media asked that, on April 21, Canadian Prime Minister said that two planes sent to China to pick up shipments of medical supplies were forced to return to Canada empty because of China's ground time limit for charter flights.

Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Geng Shaung replied that the relevant reports were inaccurate.

Geng Shuang said, since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Canada have been offering each other support and assistance and conducting anti-pandemic cooperation. Recently, the Canadian side has purchased medical supplies through various channels in China and sent charter flights to Shanghai to bring them home. China has been assisting and facilitating the Canadian side in its purchase, customs clearance and charter flight permits. The Canadian side has also expressed thanks for this on various occasions.

As to the incident involving two Canadian flights returning empty, we have checked with the competent department and found relevant reports to be inaccurate. Relevant airports and civil aviation authorities place no limit on the ground time of chartered cargo planes.