New | China to spend 500b yuan on boosting civil aviation
Investment backs Silk Road goals, with better connections to Eurasian countries as part of Beijing's effort to open up air transport in the region
China will splash out 500 billion yuan (HK$632.6 billion) on civil aviation development this year and boost air traffic to Eurasian countries along the "Silk Road", ahead of drawing up a new five-year plan for its fast-growing aviation industry.
Li Jiaxiang, the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at the Civil Aviation Development Forum in Beijing on Wednesday the aviation regulator was drafting the 13th five-year plan to 2020 for the sector and would push ahead with 193 priority projects this year with a total investment of 500 billion yuan.
Li said 51 of the projects were directly related to President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road" initiative to enhance the country's connectivity with the Eurasia region.
"To enhance the development of air transport in the region, opening the market is the key … We will further expand traffic rights arrangements with Central Asia and South Asia, and expand agreements with countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and West Asia, as appropriate. We will also focus on opening international traffic rights in the hubs of Xian, Urumqi, Kunming, Xiamen and Yinchuan."
The mainland's 52 airlines would add 83 international routes in the summer-autumn season this year, after adding 131 last year, both record-high numbers, Li said.
He said 24 of the planned new routes this year were to countries along the One Belt, One Road.
China is the world's second-largest aviation market and the fastest-growing one, with passenger traffic growing at 12 per cent last year - twice the world average. Despite the country's slowing growth, the increased disposable income of its 500 million middle-class population has fuelled air transport and outbound travel. Outbound traveller numbers last year topped the 100 million mark for the first time.
Li said mainland airlines recorded an 18.8 per cent increase in international traffic last year.
"In the first five months of 2015, we saw a 39.4 per cent boost in international traffic in and out of China," he said.
The mainland has 202 airports, a number growing by 10 to 15 each year, according to Li.
Li, who is expected to retire soon from the top post that he has held since December 2007, emphasised the importance of maintaining the country's safety record. "We must enhance international cooperation in ensuring the safety of air transport," he said.
Last month, the aviation regulator unveiled a point-based audit system for foreign airlines, after Thailand was found to have inadequate safety oversight by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Beijing plans to put 500 civil aviation experts on overseas exchange programmes, studies or training courses in the next five years, Li said.
