General aviation likely to be China’s new growth point

People's Daily Online
May 3, 2011

AVIC International Holding Corporation recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of Teledyne Continental Motors, a U.S. aircraft engine manufacturer. As the Chinese government plans to open more low-altitude airspace (below 3,000 meters), the acquisition will make AVIC International better prepared for the burgeoning general aviation market in the country, said Wu Guangquan, president of AVIC International. China will further open its airspace in the next few years, aiming to completely open all of its low-altitude airspace by 2015, revealed Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

General aviation industry is promising

General aviation refers to the operation of civilian aircraft for purposes other than commercial passenger transport. Wu Tongshui, president of the Civil Aviation University of China and head of the General Aviation Commission under the China Air Transport Association, said that general aviation aircraft normally fly at low altitudes, so the opening of low-altitude airspace is of vital importance to the development of the general aviation industry. General aviation is likely to become China’s new growth sector in the process of economic restructuring. Sinolink Securities also noted that as China gradually opens its low-altitude airspace and streamlines the approval process, the domestic demand for private and corporate aircraft will increase sharply, and its generally aviation industry will develop by leaps and bounds in the next 10 years.
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