Business jet manufacturers are looking to the mainland market for growth as, after years of waiting, the authorities are lifting restrictions on airspace.
Makers of small business jets and helicopters are already forecasting a rise in sales. According to many forecasts, the private air-travel industry will be one of the fastest-growing sectors in the next 10 years.
Airspace over the mainland - the world's third-largest country by surface area after Russia and Canada - is under strict military control, but the People's Liberation Army has loosened its iron grip over the skies. In the past, authorities needed a week's notice for approval of a private flight plan. Under new regulations, the green light can be given within a day, sometimes just a few hours.
Richard Thiele, head of global sales (aerospace and aviation) at Reed Exhibitions, says most private business jet manufacturers are happy that flight-plan restrictions have been lifted by mainland authorities.
'The growth in the business jet industry is driven by China,' Thiele says.
He says that in 2007, the first event to be held in Hong Kong, there were eight aircraft; in the 2009 expo there were 16; while this year, event organisers are expecting 20.
The central government, which encourages its major state-owned conglomerates to invest abroad - especially in Africa, where commercial air service is patchy - has finally understood the need for private aviation. Some business jets are now able to take mainland executives from Beijing to London, Nairobi and Los Angeles without refuelling stops.