One element of China’s current five-year plan is the improvement of the environment for general aviation, which includes business aircraft operations. New airports and infrastructure are being built, and more airspace is being made available for non-airline commercial and business operations. Many of the issues affecting this segment of the aviation industry will be addressed at the inaugural Open Skies Xian business and general aviation leaders forum to be held in September this year.

The three-day forum will have speakers from government agencies at national, regional and local levels and industry experts representing various sectors of the business aviation world. As home to major aircraft manufacturing plants and China’s flight test establishment, Xian is a natural location in which to host the forum.

Xian also lies on the historic Silk Road, and during the forum a qualifying air race is being held in advance of the 2015 Great Silk Road Air Race. Whereas next year’s full event will be held over a course from Istanbul to the Chinese coast, the qualifier will start in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and route through Almaty, Kazakhstan and Urumqi before finishing in Xian on the last day of the forum. The prize is $50,000.

You can learn more by going to see Open Skies here at EBACE (at Booth 3019).