Last month’s first delivery of a G650 to China underlined Gulfstream’s confidence that demand for its business jet family is continuing to flourish in this part of the world. The aircraft was a G650ER model that went to Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. (MSFL), which now has a total of 64 Gulfstream aircraft in its portfolio. Pending receipt of a type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the new G650ER is covered by a U.S. registration.

“China continues to be a very important market for us, and, in fact, the Asia Pacific as a whole was the second busiest overall last year,” Scott Neal, Gulfstream senior vice president for sales and marketing, told AIN ahead of the ABACE show. Apart from China, demand has also been strong of late in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Offering range of up to 13,880 km (7,500 nm), the G650ER provides the true intercontinental reach that many customers in the Asia Pacific region crave for their business and personal travel. Last year, the aircraft did a demonstration flight that started with a non-stop eastbound hop from New York to Beijing, before continuing in the same direction to fly directly back to Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.

But Neal pointed out that the manufacturer’s other models are also in demand, most notably the large cabin G450 and G550, as well as the smaller G280 and G150 models–all of which are on display in Shanghai this week. “When this market began to grow, it was a the large-cabin, long-range aircraft that got a foothold first. But since then people have been realizing the wider utility of business jets and understanding that different models can do different jobs,” he said.

From Gulfstream’s perspective, China’s overall economic slowdown appears to have done little to dent demand for private aviation. “Even within markets that people think are down, businesses are so diversified and global these days that the need for these aircraft is still there,” commented Neal. “Even if a Chinese company’s business in China is slowing down, its operations in Africa could still be growing fast, so the diversification really is important. We take a very long-term view in China and we’ve invested for the long-term.”

Along with other business aircraft manufacturers, Gulfstream is still hoping to see further improvements in the process for importing aircraft into China. Registration and operational requirements can be very complicated, and imports are subject to 23 percent value added tax (with concerns among the industry that the Chinese government may be preparing to introduce other taxes). Limited airport access and infrastructure are other factors holding back business aviation growth. Gulfstream has been conducting joint training between its staff and CAAC officials with a view to improving the aircraft delivery process.

Gulfstream’s factory-owned service center in Beijing has been open for three-and-a-half years and has now worked on more than 500 aircraft. The company has been expanding staffing levels and also has increased its inventory of aircraft parts in China. Jet Aviation operates a factory-authorized service center for Gulfstream in Singapore, and the manufacturer has sales offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, development of the new G500 and G600 long-range jets is on track to complete certification, respectively, in 2017 and 2018. The four G500 prototypes now involved in flight testing had collectively logged more than 700 hours just ahead of this week’s show.