Get the frequent-flyer cards ready. The Midwest China Hub Commission is heading back to Beijing.

Another delegation, this one led by Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond and Claire McCaskill, is jetting off to the Far East on Saturday for another round of talks about the region's bid to land Chinese air cargo flights.

A group of government, business and civic leaders has set up a week-long slate of meetings with Chinese airlines, government officials, agencies and more. The plan is to nail down more specifics on business plans for cargo flights, and to ink agreements for companies that import and export between the China and the Midwest.

As we wrote in this article earlier this month, the region's two-and-a-half year-long bid to become China's Midwest freight hub is approaching a critical phase. Several Chinese airlines are due to visit Lambert in September, and, with funding for the project nearing its expiration date, local leaders say they'll need to know by year's end if a deal is going to happen, or not.

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