Budapest hosts Chinese delegation in bid for e-commerce business

Today, Budapest Airport (BUD) announced that it hosted a Chinese logistics and investment delegation – including representatives from the Shanghai Cross-border E-commerce Association (SCEA) and Invest Shanghai – during a one-day forum focused on e-commerce and cross-border cooperation.

In its bid for Chinese business, BUD will face competition from airports in Europe, such as Liège (LGG), and established hubs like Frankfurt (FRA), Schiphol (AMS) and Luxembourg (LUX). BUD does, however, maintain a sizeable catchment zone in the Central and Eastern European region. Its positioning between Asia and Western Europe further lends the airport’s ability to act as a transit node along the Chinese government’s Belt and Road initiative.

The event demonstrates not only a continuation of BUD’s growth strategy to increase connections with Asia, but also growing Chinese interest in Hungary. In February, Shanghai Airlines, in partnership with China Airlines, announced plans to launch a thrice-weekly passenger route with belly cargo service between BUD and Shanghai Pudong (PVG), beginning June 7.

During the Chinese delegation’s visit last week, BUD’s cargo team held a day-long workshop and tour of the airport’s cargo facilities, organized by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) and the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai. During the tour, delegates visited BUD’s new dedicated “Cargo City” freight center, which is now under construction and set for completion in the fourth quarter of this year.

Currently, BUD’s Cargo City is planned to house the operations of AirBridgeCargo, Cargolux, Silk Way West, Turkish Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo and belly cargo from other airlines. Given BUD’s efforts in attracting Chinese attention, however, perhaps we will see more Chinese providers join the roster over the next year.

Those interested in learning more about Chinese cross-border strategies are invited to join us at Cargo Facts Asia 2019, to be held 15-17 April at the Langham Shanghai. For more information, or to register, visit www.cargofactsasia.com.