The Evacuation of Chinese Citizens from Libya Conducted by Chinese Central State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Successfully Finishes on Mar 5, 2011

Successful conclusion of the largest overseas evacuation conducted by the Chinese government since 1949

The evacuation of Chinese citizens from Libya conducted by Chinese central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) successfully finished on Mar 5, 2011.

The last chartered plane sent by the Chinese government to evacuate its nationals from Libya landed in Beijing on Mar 5, 2011, marking the successful conclusion of the largest overseas evacuation conducted by the Chinese government since 1949.

When the civil war in Libya broke out in 2011, over 30,000 Chinese citizens were stranded. The Chinese government quickly initiated a level-I emergency response and started to evacuate Chinese citizens from Libya.

Chinese central SOEs including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) , China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC)  took the initiative to organize evacuation and volunteered to evacuate the second group of citizens.

The evacuation, lasting from Feb 23 to Mar 3, took a total of 22,371 Chinese citizens back home on 76 flights by Chinese central SOEs such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.

(Executive editor: Li Shuling)