China's Big Three:
Parallel airlines — September 2019

China has been one of the main powers behind global air traffic growth in the last ten years. Over that period it has seen GDP increase by an annual average of 7.6%. Air traffic has trebled — an annual average growth of 13% domestically and 9% on international routes. GDP growth has been slowing recently, with additional concerns that the current trade war with the US will reduce total economic growth further. But this is probably all to plan, and may do nothing to stop the inexorable growth in the country’s importance to the world’s aviation industry.

The PRC is still a command economy. The current five year plan (the 13th, 2015-2020) calls for economic growth targets of 6.5% a year and a “moderately prosperous society” by 2020. It is written, it will be so.