After the share restructuring of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, Sir Adrian Swire paid a visit to the then Chinese Vice-Premier, Mr Qian Qichen, in Beijing.
Cathay Pacific Airways underwent a landmark share restructuring to increase the stake in the airline held by the Chinese government’s commercial arm, CITIC. This deal was seen as vital to ensuring Cathay Pacific came through the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China with its traffic rights and Swire management intact.