Air China and Cathay Pacific also formed an alliance to initiate a takeover attempt to counter the Singapore Airline-Temasek Holding (parent company and the Singapore government investment arm) offer, but the move was halted by China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Li has once said: "Merger is not a move of one party overpowering the other; it is a way of cooperation for expansion and strength."?

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