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Air travel to open wider to investors
By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-31 23:03 With the fastest growing air
transport market in the world, China pledged Sunday to open the aviation sector
wider to private and foreign investment while spurring development of regional
airlines.
The effects of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus, which haunted
many parts of the country last year, turned out to be short-lived and the
country's air travel picked up very quickly, said Gao Hongfeng, vice-minister of
the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC).
In the first nine months of this year, more than 90 million passengers
travelled by air in China, a surge of 50.2 per cent year on year, show the
latest statistics of the CAAC.
Speaking at the International Aviation and Aerospace Forum, Gao said air
transport in China is growing at a pace unseen in other countries and holds
unmatched development potential.
"In the whole of 2004, the number of air travelers in China is expected to
rise to a record high of 120 million."
As the country's rapid economic development will continue to stoke demands
for air transport, the civil aviation sector will realize sustainable growth by
implementing revamping and reforming policies, he said.
Gao said in the years ahead, administrative limits required for civil
aviation projects will be reduced to create allow enterprises to compete on a
fair footing, while guaranteeing the interests of the State, enterprises and
consumers.
For example, operation rights for domestic air routes will be subject to
ever-relaxing procedures, he said.
In addition to State-owned firms, foreign and private companies will be
"guided and encouraged" to invest in air transportation, airports and other
civil aviation projects, he said.
"We'll actively adapt ourselves to the global air transport liberalization
tendency by phasing in the opening of China's air transport market," he said.
The vice-minister did not specify, but he said his agency will support
code-sharing between Chinese and foreign airlines and for them to forge
strategic partnership or instigate other joint marketing efforts.
Between 1980 and 2003, more than US$30 billion in foreign investment was
pooled into China's civil aviation sector in projects including plane and engine
maintenance, ground service and air catering, Gao said.
The vice-minister also said China will step up international collaboration to
prevent terrorism threatening civil aviation safety.
Yang Yuzhong, vice-president of the China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I),
China's major aircraft manufacturer, Sunday said his company aims to become the
country's leading regional airliners supplier.
Demands on regional jets will be growing in China as air travel between small
and medium-sized cities becomes more frequent, said Liao Quanwang, vice-director
of the Aviation Industry Development Research Centre of China.
With the optimization of the country's air routes and fleet structure, the
country's airlines will favour planes with 50 to 70 seats, according to a
statement from the centre.
The AVIC I announced the ARJ21, China's advanced regional jet programme, four
years ago. Before manufacturing of ARJ21 started last December, the company had
already clinched 35 orders the jets, said company president Liu Gaozuo.
"We offer regional jets of the best quality but at a price and operational
cost up to 10 per cent lower than foreign counterparts," Liu said. "More
importantly, we provide products that most suit Chinese market needs."
The forum precedes the week-long 5th Airshow China, that officially started
Sunday afternoon. The biennial event has been held in the coastal city of Zhuhai
in South China's Guangdong Province since 1996.
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