MAJOR players in the aviation industry sent positive signals for deeper cooperation with their Chinese counterparts at the Hunan International General Aviation Industry Expo, which just concluded in Central China’s Hunan Province.

Key enterprises from home and abroad, including the Aviation Industry Corp. of China, the Aero Engine Corp. of China, Textron Aviation, Bell Helicopter and Pratt & Whitney, attended the fair.

General aviation has become a key focus as China’s potential in the area is expected to inject new vitality into the aviation industry, which has been plagued by the pandemic over the past two years.

Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) shows that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the number of companies in China’s general aviation industry rose to 523. Together, they owned a fleet of 2,892 aircraft.

Over the past five years, China’s general aviation industry exceeded 4.57 million flying hours, with an average annual increase of 13.7 percent, 2.7 percentage points higher than the increase seen in transportation aviation.

At the expo, guests and business representatives from Mexico, Slovakia and the United States agreed that China’s general aviation industry is ushering in a golden opportunity for development, and they said they expected to take advantage of the expo to promote further in-depth cooperation with China in relevant fields.

“I foresee that in the reform of the use of low air space, you can produce the expected results. This industry will develop greatly in China,” said Carlos I. Giralt-Cabrales, Consul General of Mexico in Guangzhou.

Bell Helicopter from the United States brought to the fair the latest model of the Bell 407 series, and delivered a brand-new Bell 407GXi helicopter to Chinese customers at the exhibition site.

Mark Loh, general manager of Bell Helicopter’s China service center, said the company was very optimistic about the Chinese market. At present, helicopters in China are mainly used in the fields of medical rescue and public safety.   (Xinhua)