China's aviation industry has leaped from the 37th place in 1978 to the 5th in 2003 in the world since reform and opening up, said Gao Hongfeng, vice-president of Civil Aviation Administration of China on 31 October.

The total transportation mileage of China's civil aviation in 2003 reached 17.1 billion tons km, volume of passenger traffic 87.59 million and volume of cargo transport 2.19 million tons, a respective increase of 54, 36 and 31 times over those in 1978 noted Gao at China International Aviation & Aerospace Forum 2004. And the annual growth rates hit 18, 16 and 16 percent respectively. The growth rate of transportation mileage in China is 3 times higher than that of the world's aviation in the same period. China's aviation industry has leaped from the 37th place in 1978 to the 5th in 2003 among the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) contracting states and the passenger traffic has also risen to the 5th place from the 35th. In 2003, the total transportation mileage of China's civil aviation was only after the US, Germany, the UK and Japan. The development of China's civil aviation industry will face an unprecedented opportunity of strategic importance in the coming 10 years.

By People's Daily Online