China seeks to boost civil aviation sector

China is stepping up efforts to strengthen its civil aviation sector as a revised draft of the Civil Aviation Law was submitted on Tuesday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, for a second review.

The updated draft expands measures to promote the development of the civil aviation industry, including the addition of a dedicated chapter on growth initiatives.

"Over the past three decades since the Civil Aviation Law was first enacted, China's civil aviation sector has significantly expanded its research and manufacturing capabilities, grown into one of the world's largest transportation markets and continuously improved service quality," Yuan Shuhong, an official with the NPC's Constitution and Law Committee, told lawmakers while explaining the draft on Tuesday.

China is now the world's second-largest civil aviation market in terms of passenger volume. In recent years, the rapid development of the low-altitude economy — covering areas such as general aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles and air taxis — has become an important driver of growth.

The draft highlights national efforts to improve aviation infrastructure, advance scientific and technological research and strengthen the cultivation of skilled civil aviation professionals. It also proposes further improving aviation safety management and service quality to support the industry's high-quality development.

The draft encourages building an innovation system led by enterprises, guided by market demand and supported by cooperation among industry, universities and research institutions. It specifically supports the research and development of key technologies, such as large aircraft and advanced engines, and calls for accelerating the industrial application of scientific and technological achievements.

Additional provisions include optimizing the layout of civil airports, speeding up the construction of aviation hubs and improving a nationwide civil aviation service system that is efficient, accessible and widely connected.

To further promote the low-altitude economy, the draft proposes measures to improve the allocation of low-altitude airspace resources, establish service and regulatory platforms for low-altitude flights and refine airworthiness certification and flight management systems that meet the needs of the growing sector. These efforts aim to expand low-altitude aviation services and foster new market opportunities.

In recent years, China's low-altitude economy has shown steady growth. Last year, the country registered 145 new general aviation enterprises and built 26 general airports. More than 1.1 million unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, were newly registered under the real-name system last year, with total UAV flight hours reaching 26.66 million, up 15 percent year-on-year.

At the Civil Aviation Administration of China's annual work conference in January, CAAC head Song Zhiyong emphasized the importance of enhancing safety systems and service networks to support the sustainable growth of the low-altitude economy while maintaining effective supervision.

The CAAC has set specific development targets for this year, including achieving 161 billion ton-kilometers of total transport turnover, handling 780 million passenger trips, transporting 9.5 million metric tons of cargo, and further improving the industry's operational efficiency and profitability.