Former Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) official Fang Liu was reappointed to a second three-year term as secretary general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Liu, who begins her new term on August 1, spent 20 years with the CAAC before moving over to ICAO initially as director the Bureau of Administration and Services and later as secretary general.

During her first term as secretary general, Liu has stressed collaboration and partnership with industry, including business aviation. That was a message she made before ABACE attendees in 2016 during one of her initial addresses before a business aviation audience as secretary general.

“The business aviation community is an invaluable partner….We will continue to working closely with [the industry] to make certain that your voice remains an important one around our table,” she had told attendees.

Calling air transport a crucial driver of economic, social and cultural development, supporting 60 million jobs and $2.4 trillion in economic contributions, Liu added, “Business aviation is an integral member of the civil aviation community and an important contributor to these positive impacts.”

In response to the reappointment, Liu continued on the theme of collaboration. “We have worked very hard to optimize ICAO’s operations and to reinforce the organization’s implementation support to states, by strengthening the regional presence, enhancing coordination and partnerships, and streamlining technical assistance, cooperation and training.” she said, pointing to improvements in the standards-setting process.

Going forward, Liu added, “Our foremost challenge is the unprecedented traffic growth along with the rapid advancements in aviation technologies. Our principal standard-making function will need to keep pace with these changes.”