In an effort to further develop China’s nascent general aviation industry, Z-Park Sky Innovations General Aviation Alliance announced yesterday at EAA AirVenture 2016 that it has partnered with Blue Sky Innovations, a Texas-based general aviation consulting company, to form the Z-Park Blue Sky Innovations General Aviation Industrial Alliance. According to its organizers, the group, the first of its kind for GA in China, will “expedite expansion of the industry," which is projected to have an economic impact of $150 billion (1 trillion Chinese Yuan) by 2020.

“We’re seeing rapid, double-digit growth in business and personal travel, both domestically in China and international travel,” noted alliance vice chairman Lidong Peng. “We’re seeing hundreds of new airports being built, and GA flight hours are projected to triple over the next few years, and we’re still only in the early days of China’s 21st century GA potential.”

Headquartered in Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park (Z-Park), the non-profit organization is the first industrial alliance licensed by the Chinese Civil Authority with a focus on GA, and among its founding members are more than 60 organizations including GA enterprises, research companies and associated institutional investors.

Blue Sky Innovations will act as the alliance’s exclusive representative in the U.S. “We’re committed to helping U.S. companies grow and trade in China, and to helping Chinese companies grow and trade globally,” said Blue Sky CEO Tim Archer. A ceremony will be held at Z-Park in September to celebrate the opening of the alliance’s new offices.