[Igor Antunov]

Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) chief Li Jiaxiang also reiterated pledges that carriers would buy on average more than 300 planes a year from 2011 to 2015 - the country's current five-year economic plan.

"China plans to build 70 new airports in the next few years and to expand 100 existing airports," he told delegates in Beijing at the annual general meeting of global airline industry group IATA.

He added that the number of airports would reach more than 230 by the end of 2015, and that Chinese carriers would operate around 4,700 planes by then.

The aggressive expansion comes after IATA head Tony Tyler warned that global airline profits would more than halve this year on the back of surging oil prices and the eurozone crisis.

The airline industry in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to turn in a $2bn (£1.3bn) profit in 2012, according to IATA figures released on the sidelines of the AGM, but this still represents less than half of the region's 2011 profit.

The group did not provide specific projections for the China market - which has so far experienced booming growth due to rising demand for air travel as increasingly affluent Chinese people travel more frequently.

But it said part of the reason behind the projected drop in profits in Asia-Pacific was a slowdown in the Indian and Chinese economies.

Growth in China, the world's second largest economy, slowed to 8.1pc in the first quarter of 2012 - its slowest pace in nearly three years.

But Ma Kai, a state councillor in charge of economic development, said at the AGM that China's aviation market had the "biggest growth potential" in the world.

"Ever since 2005, the industry has realised an annual growth rate of 17.5pc," he said.

"We have contributed to the current development of growth in the global civil aviation industry and will continue to do so for the time to come."

Li added that by the end of 2011, China had 2,888 commercial planes in operation and its aviation industry employed 1.2m people.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... -2015.html

I just learned they are building an even larger one for Beijing. That shit is insane, that terminal 3 building is already too big and they go and build an entire new airport. So counting construction already begun this year, to the start of 2015, that's about 23 airports/year.

[Daktoria]

It'd be nice to see China invent some new technologies instead of piggy-backing on top of everyone else's accomplishments.

That way, their national spirit actually represents something original. They're just Westernizing through reverse engineering.

[Igor Antunov]

They have developed some unique technologies in the midst of their modernisation, particularly when it comes to cleaner energy production, mega-construction and resource exploitation. It will serve them well into the future. You can do your own research.

[Daktoria]

Yea, but that's industrial engineering. Even in clean energy, I'm not familiar with China doing anything beyond typical wind turbines en masse.

Airlines are the border between industry and consumption, so they somewhat count as pretty, but not by much. You get to see air routes on a map, and feel like you're in the middle of hustle and bustle at a terminal.

That's the whole point behind 5 Year Plans. They inspire national identity. Production for production's sake doesn't do the same thing.

[JohnRawls]

What will you do igor, when china turns into a western country ?

[Igor Antunov]

It never will, South Korea and Japan are extremely uniquely asian 'westernized' societies. China has even less influence from abroad. It is large enough to influence others.

[JohnRawls]

You can't be a western modernized country without its political background and society structure. ALthough there are variations of those structures but in the end, it is what you hate about us Igor and that is what China is trying to build in its home.

What will you do, when China gonna start bombing Taiwan and the other ' Taiwanese Igors ' like nato did to you?

[Igor Antunov]

You can't be a western modernized country without its political background

You can be a modern country without a weak, US puppet regime in place. As I said China will never be 'western'. It will be a rival culture/power/political influence to the Anglo-Saxon run sphere.

[Daktoria]

You can be a modern country without a weak, US puppet regime in place. As I said China will never be 'western'. It will be a rival culture/power/political influence to the Anglo-Saxon run sphere.

Can you describe modern Chinese culture outside of Western technology?

[Igor Antunov]

I suggest you visit the country sometime.

You have a very narrow eurocentric view of the world. Could you describe western culture 600AD-1600AD outside of eastern technology? You know, when chinese cannon/firearms/printing press/compass/rudder/etc technologies were first making their way to the primitive west via the orient?

[JohnRawls]

You can be a modern country without a weak, US puppet regime in place. As I said China will never be 'western'. It will be a rival culture/power/political influence to the Anglo-Saxon run sphere.

Why is china building skyscrapers, airports and factories by our technology and concepts ? It is absurd to say that china doesn't want to become western when it is copying us almost in every aspect. It will be on of the several powers in the future that will run the world. It doesn't mean it will be a rival though. I don't see much rivalry between the modern world nowadays. All is already devided into zones of influence and 'protection'. So i will ask again, do you really think China won't be as imperealistic as us when it comes to resources and protecting 'free trade' around the world in its sphere of influence after it becomes western ?

[JohnRawls]

I suggest you visit the country sometime.

You have a very narrow eurocentric view of the world. Could you describe western culture 1000AD-1600AD outside of eastern technology? You know, when chinese cannon/firearms were first making their way to the primitive west via the orient?

Irrelevant nowadays. Modern western culture is the synthesis of many that came before it but it is not relevant in this discussion. The past greatness of the west or east is of no importance. As you point out, why are they building skyscrapers like we were building cannons nowadays ? We wanted to be strong and enlightened so we did take technology from the mid east back in the middle ages which brought the reneisance from the mid east and spain(which started there actually in my opinion long before europe) to europe. Progressive(Technologicaly, not socialism you crazy libertarians) and positive cultures need to be intergrated into our own cultures if they are to survive but in the end, the culture itself will change.

[Igor Antunov]

You just answered your own questions, particularly why the Chinese are absorbing technologies. They will synthesize modern society into their own flavour, technology is independent of political system. Some of germany's greatest technological achievements were under a brutal, self destructive authoritarian state. China's isn't brutal or self destructive, but it is authoritarian and it is designed to last.

[JohnRawls]

No, igor. Technology is not independant of cultural achievments. Since when capitalism is independant from the political system (modern variation of capitalism)?

[Igor Antunov]

State capitalism can exist outside of liberal democracy. In fact it usually does.

[JohnRawls]

State capitalism has its limits, true capitalism(free market, globolisation etc) can take you further but it requires political change in China. Even Deng Xiaoping aknowledged that

[Igor Antunov]

State Capitalism is essentially a strategically controlled free market economy. China is nowhere near the most competitive environment for capitalist expansion and global corporations, yet it leads the world in FDI, thus laissez faire is not required, and on such a scale would be quite detrimental to China, because it is still a developing country and requires critical government input into infrastructure development and resource exploitation, to maximize efficiency in the long term, otherwise it would end up like India, with nobody to allocate new airports and mass transit systems for example on the national level.

[JohnRawls]

So basically you are agreeing that somewhere in the future China will have to or will become western ?
What will you do then igor ? You got 20 years or so to choose another object of adoration before that....

[Igor Antunov]

A single party, state capitalist meritocratic state with it's upper leadership appointed rather than voted in is going to be a western liberal democracy? Your definitions would have to drastically change! Perhaps to breaking point.

And anyway, by the time China fully develops the west will no longer be the leading driver of economic growth...oh wait it isn't even as we speak. But this will extend to the cultural and technological fronts in time as well. Then the west will strive to 'easternize' and regain it's edge, as it did during the high middle ages when ideas and technologies started pouring in westwards from the more developed orient. Start learning Mandarin!

[Franker65]

Whatever about your technological discussion, surely more airports could only be a major advantage in such a huge, heavily populated country. Look at Europe. Germany and France have a good high speed rail network connected to London but many people, especially business travellers choose to fly. In China, they have the high speed rail but more airports means more access and freight carrying capability, especially to more remote regions. Statistics show that the plane is third, behind the bus and the train in China. Hopefully this will make things faster and benefit the economy.