China GA Report EN

REGULATIONS AND POLICIES
With limited capability to produce aircraft domestically,
China relies heavily on imported aircraft to support
its GA expansion. Nonetheless, prior to 2016, China
still imposed a tax on imported aircraft to protect the local
aircraft manufacturing industry. The discriminatory tax was
eliminated in late 2016, after being challenged by the Obama
Administration. Now embracing a more open and developed
GA industry, the Chinese government is implementing
regulations and policies aimed at allowing the industry to takeoff
and catch up with developed markets.
In the past, the industry’s development in China has been greatly
affected by the CAAC’s procedural regulations. Simplifying the
procedures and loosening the regulation on owner-use (noncommercial)
aircraft registration, operation permit application
and airport infrastructure approval are all moves in the right
direction. In December 2013, the approval requirement for most
GA flights was relaxed, and the waving of approval on imported
and non-commercial use GA aircraft in March 2017 has pushed
the GA industry a step further.
In addition to loosening application and approval requirements,
the government is also focusing on improving safety. Aiming to
improve the GA maintenance support service, safety inspections
and investigation, is the establishment of more service centers
and a comprehensive safety supervision system. Expanding the
coverage of automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B)
is an important element of safety assurance, in order to meet the
target of reducing the accident rate to less than 0.09% by 2020.
Setting up automatic flight service stations in GA active zones
with an expanded information sharing platform, such as weather
updates, will also improve the information system within the GA
industry, as well.
With an overall operating scale of only one-third the size of Brazil
and Mexico, and one-sixth the size of South Africa, significant
additional infrastructure is needed in China. The government
has announced an aggressive expansion: by 2020, 300 new
GA airports will be constructed. To meet the target efficiently,
provincial governments have taken responsibility of issuing
GA airport approvals. This transfer of power from the central
government to provincial governments has attracted investors.
Additionally, to boost the number of GA companies to a total of
300, the government has loosened the aircraft requirement for
GA companies. Owning or leasing two GA aircraft now satisfies
the aircraft requirement for setting up a GA firm; a relatively lower
barrier than the previous requirement of owning two aircraft.
Number of GA Policies 2016-2017
Corporation (7%)
Infrastructure (10%)
Procedure/
Qualification (15%)
Aircraft Operation (18%)
44+18+15+10+7+6+G
Safety (6%) Industry Development (44%)
68
Number of GA Policies 2012-2017
35
33
13
9
7
2012 2013
4
2014 2015 2016 2017*
Note: For the period from January through June 2017
12 | CHINA GA REPORT 2017