China’s C919 aircraft begins to serve Guangzhou-Hefei air route

A round-trip route operated by China’s domestically-produced C919 passenger jet between Guangzhou City of south China’s Guangdong Province and Hefei City of east China’s Anhui Province officially launched on Sunday, making Hefei the 23rd city in China to welcome the C919 into service.

Flight CZ3813, carrying 144 passengers, slowly taxied through a water salute after landing at Hefei Xinqiao International Airport, a prestigious aviation tradition, marking the C919’s maiden flight to Hefei.

China Southern Airlines will use its C919 aircraft to operate up to five round-trip flights per week on this route during the peak tourist season in May.

China Southern Airlines, the country’s largest carrier, now operates 10 C919 aircraft. As of Monday, its C919 fleet had completed more than 9,500 flights, transporting over 1.3 million passengers to 23 destinations.

Currently, the service network of the C919 is continuously expanding, efficiently connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with the Yangtze River Delta city cluster.

Conveying Iran’s conditions for ending the war to Pakistan, as a mediating country, is among the key purposes of Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s return to Islamabad, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on Sunday.

According to Tasnim, Araghchi’s return to Pakistan is not related to nuclear negotiations with the United States. Instead, the foreign minister is expected to discuss bilateral relations with Pakistan, along with other issues such as Iran’s enforcement of a new legal system on the Strait of Hormuz, seeking war compensation, guarantees against repeated “aggression by the warmongers,” and lifting the U.S. naval blockade.

Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Sunday afternoon for his second visit since Friday, following a stop in Oman. His brief visit to Pakistan aims to continue consultations with Pakistani officials, it added.

Araghchi is scheduled to visit Russia after Pakistan on the final leg of his regional tour. During his first trip to Islamabad, he met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Arm Chief Asim Munir.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior commanders, and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz, blocking passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

An April 8 ceasefire was followed by Iran-US talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12. After the negotiations collapsed, the United States imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, preventing ships to and from Iranian ports from transiting.

A new round of negotiations had been expected in Pakistan this week, but Iran declined to attend, citing continued U.S. naval pressure and “excessive demands.”

U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News Sunday that he will no longer send delegations to talk with Iran. “If they (the Iranians) want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” he said.

Trump said that he has great respect for Pakistan, which had been hosting U.S.-Iranian talks in Islamabad, and that Pakistan will stay involved.

He repeated that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. “So if they want, they can call us. But again, they know what has to be in the agreement. Very simple: they cannot have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise, there’s no reason to meet,” said Trump.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said U.S. pressure and hostile actions are undermining trust and making progress toward renewed talks more difficult, according to a statement from his office early Sunday.

He added that Washington cannot pursue negotiations while increasing pressure on Iran, saying such actions “disrupt the necessary atmosphere” for diplomacy.