China’s civil aviation industry aims high
▶ Country to become world leader by 2050 under new action plan
China aims to transform its civil aviation industry into one of the world’s best by 2050, according to an action plan published by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Under the plan, from 2021 to 2035, China will strengthen its civil aviation industry to not only take the lead in air transportation, but also become home to the world’s most competitive airlines and aviation hubs, an advanced air service system and general aviation system, a modernized air traffic management system, a sound security guarantee system and highly efficient management.
By 2050, the industry will be further improved to satisfy the needs of Chinese people and to become a world leader in global competitiveness, innovation, management and sustainable development, and fully participate in international civil aviation management.
Moreover, airports and air routes will be integrated with information networks, while passenger and cargo transport will become highly efficient, it said.
Calling civil aviation “a strategic industry playing a primary and leading role” in China’s economic development, Dong Faxin, deputy chief of the development and planning bureau of the administration, said the action plan had been made to meet the evergrowing needs of the public for safe, fast, convenient and quality transport services.
China currently has the world’s second-largest aviation market, after the US.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast that China will replace the US as the world’s largest aviation market in the mid-2020s.
The rebalancing of China’s economy toward consumption will support strong passenger demand over the long term, said the IATA report, noting that the aviation market for China is defined as traffic to, from and within the country.
The report also noted that the AsiaPacific region will drive growth with more than half the total number of new passengers over the next 20 years coming from these markets.
Growth in the region is being driven by a combination of robust economic growth, improvements in household incomes and favorable population and demographic profiles, the IATA report said.
China’s civil aviation sector expanded at a steady rate in the first seven months of the year, the latest data from the CAAC showed.
Total air transport turnover reached 68.8 billion ton-km in the January to July period, up 12.8 percent year-onyear, registering faster growth than the 12.5-percent increase for 2017.
A total of 350.3 million passenger trips were made during the period, up 12.1 percent year-on-year, compared with a 13 percent increase last year. Cargo turnover rose 6.6 percent yearon-year to 4.1 million tons.
Currently, there are 60 air transportation companies, 3,549 aircraft, 410 general aviation airlines and 232 transport airports in China. Beijing Capital International Airport ranks second worldwide for passenger traffic, while Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the third largest by cargo traffic.
In August this year, China published a list of civil aviation projects, with combined investment estimated at 110 billion yuan ($16 billion), in a bid to encourage private companies to participate.
The 28 projects cover both traditional areas such as airport construction, cargo logistics, plane maintenance and air rescue, and emerging areas including drone delivery and airborne data communications, according to the list released by the CAAC and the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner.
The move will “optimize the investment structure of the civil aviation sector” and “advance the supply-side structural reform and high-quality development of the sector,” the CAAC said in a statement.
In 2017, China’s civil aviation industry contributed more than 25 percent to the growth of the global civil aviation industry.
Xinhua – Global Times