China, which has had an alternating love-hate relationship with private and personal aviation for decades, now wants to increase the number of registered general aviation aircraft to 3,500 by the end of 2025. According to official data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), there are currently 2,892 such aircraft documented, along with some 517,000 drones. According to the most recent numbers from AOPA, there are roughly 198,000 GA aircraft in the U.S. and some 5100 GA airports (compared with 500 airline airports).
China’s current “Five-Year Plan” (2021-2025, the 14th such plan in its history) also calls for increasing its GA airports to more than 500, from 339. The plan also calls for instituting at least 25 provincial-level regional GA emergency rescue services over the next three years. Proponents of GA in China have long recognized that promoting the use of aircraft for emergency and medical transport services can be an effective way to kick-start non-military or airline aviation operations.
For years, there has been a back-and-forth as the central government would, first, promote business and general aviation to support economic growth, then pull back with anti-elitist initiatives, mainly targeting business jets, but also compromising light, personal-transportation operations. Since the military controls much of the airspace, advancing GA has been an uphill battle. The current pro-GA lean calls upon not only improving emergency services, but also supporting innovative use of drones and upgrading aviation services in the agricultural and industrial business sectors. According to reports in Asian news sources, general aviation in China is defined as “aviation services for agriculture, disaster relief and rescue, and recreation.”
There is an extra zero in the number of GA airports in the US. 5,100 airports open to them pubic seems more realistic than over a half million.
My eagle-eye editor caught that. Thanks, Mike! (and that wins you a pass on the classic “public” typo!)
Don’t be surprised if their GA planes produced look very like offerings in the west.
One manufacturer ( not USA ) was asked to send an evaluation aircraft to China which they did only to be asked to put in together again. They had taken in apart to reverse engineer it and were unable to re assemble it.
Lol, if I’m not mistaken the ChiComs now own Cirrus, Diamond, and perhaps Mooney (which may or may not have been repatriated). So I’m guessing they won’t be making copies, they can make originals.
Until one sees an annual national Memorial Day commemorating the murder by the ChiComs of their own peaceful protestors on Tianamen Square in 1989 there is no real point to GA there. GA is all about freedom, an illegal concept in Communist China, a country with massive economic problems, widespread unrest, gulags for people of faith and persecution of their rapidly growing Christian community.
Someone should send the CCP an areal view of KOSH in the last week of July. Point out that what they see at that one airport at that one event is their goal for all of China.
Maybe if we realize we are in a Cold War with them, the US Government will have Cessna out produce them just to make a point? Of course, then the ChiComs would point out their planes are more safe, modern and higher quality. 🤣😂🤣
If they build more 162″s, problem solved. ) We all know how well that worked out for Cessna and GA…..