Airport to boost air Silk Road

The construction of a second airport at Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, will help to create an air Silk Road to Europe, a senior official said on Saturday.

Plans for the 69 billion yuan ($11 billion) airport were approved in January, and construction is due to begin at the end of the year.

"Besides a land Silk Road and a maritime Silk Road, we should have an air Silk Road, with people and cargo flying to Europe from China," said Tang Limin, a deputy to the National People's Congress and the director of Sichuan's Development and Reform Commission.