China will further lower the threshold of its aviation market so as to allow more domestic private and Sino-foreign joint-stock air companies to enter the arena, said sources with the national aviation conference Tuesday.

Yang Yuanyuan, director general of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), told the annual conference that China will go on pursuing its open policy in the aviation sector in a bid to attract more investment in the year 2006.

The Chinese government will inspire new air companies to focus their business on branch airlines and freight transport as a compensation to the major Chinese air companies, Yang said.

Yang said the frequency of both airlines and the flights will be increased across China to meet the rising market demand in 2006,

Some airports in western China, including those in Chengdu, Xi'an and Urumchi, will be upgraded and turned into regional aviation centers in the next year. Yang added.

In 2006, the CAAC will also encourage Chinese air companies to open more air routes to Latin America, the east of the United States, the Caribbean, western Asia, the middle east and Africa, said Yang.

Statistics with the CAAC said China's aviation industry raked in 5.82 billion yuan (US$721 million) of profits in the first 11 months this year, in which the profits of air companies realized 2.61 billion yuan (US$330 million).

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2005)