THE first China cargo flight has landed at St Louis-Lambert Airport in Missouri, the airfield's first international cargo flight in 10 years, reports Fox News.

    The China Cargo Airlines 777 discharged 100 tons of goods and was reloaded with consignments from Emerson Electric bound for Shanghai.

    Meanwhile, in the Missouri capital of Jefferson City, both house and senate Republican leaders struggled to pass the China hub bill, which is part of Governor Jay Nixon's economic revival package for the state.

    The special session was on the verge of ending, but late in the day, legislators voted to extend it. But the bill is stuck in committee, without agreement among lawmakers, some who think it is a boondoggle involving big tax concessions to the airline, a joint venture between Air China and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, and to forwarders who would operate from the new "aerotropolis" as promoters call it.

    Others oppose the St Louis development, saying there is little chance of diverting China air cargo that now passes through Chicago's O'Hare, the core of the scheme, offering less congestion for Midwest distribution and supposedly faster transshipping through a smaller less crowded facility.

    Making the same arguments are other airport bidders for the China hub role, one 70 miles north west of Chicago in Rockford, Illinois, and the other, MidAmerica airport, across the river from St Louis near Belleville, Illinois.

    Local business leaders have told Fox News that, if the legislature doesn't approve tax incentives for building warehouses they're prepared to move forward on the China hub deal on their on initiative.

    One Chinese official told Fox News, that if the tax incentives aren't passed, they will look at other locations, such as Denver or Columbus to establish a cargo hub.

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)