From now to 2015 China will add more than 300 aircraft each year. [File Photo]

China will buy more than 2,500 aircraft during the 2011-2015 period to expand its civil aviation fleet to 4,500 planes, a senior aviation official said Wednesday.

From now to 2015 China will add more than 300 aircraft each year, said Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Meanwhile, the country will build 70 new airports, renovate and expand 101 existing airports, Li told the China Civil Aviation Development Forum held in Beijing this morning.

By the end of 2020, China is expected to have 240 civil airports capable of handling 700 million passengers a year.

Last year, 119 of the 180 domestic airports reported losses. The combined profit of Chinese airports was merely 5.3 billion yuan.

Li called on local governments to play an active role in developing the civil aviation industry.