China and its potentially huge business aviation market continue to be a conundrum for the largely Western industry. Signs of optimism bubble to the surface, most recently government support for building new airports; liberalization of the tight airspace restrictions; and inroads into expanding the role of airborne humanitarian services, such as medevac and emergency relief operations. But in the past few years, the global economic hiccup and a stern government crackdown on corruption—real or perceived—have combined to hamstring the growth of business aviation in China. While no one wants to miss out on the potential of the market, it can be frustrating to take one stroke forward, only to be forced to tread water for apparently arbitrary reasons.
I recently returned from the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) in Shanghai where all these issues were front and center. Before, during and after the trip, my thoughts occasionally drifted to America’s business—and military—relationship with China at the start of World War II, and whether there is any connection now, eight decades later.
