ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Missouri Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill are in China right now. They tell FOX 2s Charles Jaco that the deal is just about done, and that two cargo flights a week from China will begin landing at Lambert Airport after the first of the year. And they think this will turn into something much bigger.After two years of high-level negotiations, it looks like the Chinese may be set to start establishing a cargo hub at Lambert.
Jaco spoke to Senators Claire McCaskill and Kit Bond in Bejing, where they've both been in meetings about turning St. Louis into a major trade hub between the United States and China.
While the deal is not completely done, Bond said he's optimistic details are nearly ironed out.
McCaskill agrees, "We've made some real progress on this, and the way I like to look at it Charles, is we're going to be sending two planes full of Missouri products out of St. Louis a week."
China has hosted St. Louis delegations in five separate trips over two years. St. Louis has hosted high-level Chinese delegations. And now, crunch time.
The Chinese like Lambert and Mid-America airports because they're not crowded. A Chinese cargo plane made a test flight to Mid-America last week.
So why are two cargo flights a week a big deal? Organizers of the China hub initiative say they could turn into something much, much bigger.
"The China hub makes St. Louis and the St. Louis region a player in the trade and investment and commerce with China," Bond says.
The final meeting will be between another Chinese delegation and hub officials here in St. Louis next month.
