The Governor for Guangdong Province of China, Wang Weizhong, said his Government has already begun work with China Southern Airlines to open direct flights between Port Moresby and Guangzhou.
This follows his discussion with Prime Minister James Marape during a recent visit to Port Moresby in July 2023.
Governor Weizhong said this during a banquet that he hosted for the Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, and his delegation.
He said the opening of direct flights between Port Moresby and Guangzhou would improve business connectivity between Papua New Guinea (PNG), Guangdong Province, and China.
The Governor said that the Chinese private sector and the Chinese enterprises in PNG raised a concern that it took relatively long for them to get visas.
He suggested that PNG Government established a consulate in Guangzhou to help facilitate visas for not only business travellers but also for tourists with tourism being a huge untapped market.
Vanuatu just recently opened its consulate in Guangzhou, making it the 68th consulate to be established in Guangzhou.
Governor Weizhong said he was keen to support more investors from his province to invest in PNG and he would be sending a large delegation to attend the inaugural PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong this October.
He specifically requested Prime Minister Marape to visit Guangdong Province.
He also supported the PNG Government’s decision to establish a trade mission in Shenzhen.
Minister Maru said his one-week visit to Guangdong Province was to let the Government and the people of China know that PNG was ready to do business with Guangdong Province and China.
“We will work on attending to the issues that have been raised as a concern to the people and the Government of China so we can improve the trade and investment relationship between our two countries and our people,” said Minister Maru.