The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has confirmed that 93 new general aviation airports were licensed in the first half of 2018, more than doubling the number of total general aviation airports in the country. China now has a total of 404 airports, including 231 civil airports, which support the take-off and landing of general aviation aircraft.
In the first half of the year, the CAAC registered 118 new general aviation aircraft, a 9.5-percent year-on-year increase, to bring the country's total to 2,415.
Meanwhile, China has signed bilateral intergovernmental air transport accords with 125 countries and regions, 62 of which lie along the Belt and Road, according to an announcement from the CAAC. The country also signed the first regional air transport agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and held bilateral aviation conferences and expanded freedoms of the air -- rights to enter and land in each other’s airspace -- with Russia, Armenia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Israel, Mongolia, Malaysia and Egypt and other countries straddling the route.
China has direct air routes with 45 countries alongside the route with around 5,100 flights per week. CAAC also signed documents to secure civil aviation cooperation with the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, New Zealand and Australia.