China-Pak aviation industry coop embracing new opportunities

ISLAMABAD: As a major aviation power, whether in civilian or military fields, China has cooperated closely with Pakistan in the field of aviation for decades.

According to a Gwadar Pro’s report, the Gwadar International Airport under construction, as an outstanding example of China-Pakistan aviation cooperation, is located 26 kilometers northeast of the port.

So far, most of the infrastructure has been fully completed and it is expected to be officially opened for navigation in September.

The same as Gwadar Port, the new airport is also a representative project of the CPEC, which can accommodate the take-off and landing of large aircraft such as Boeing 747.

In addition, the intersecting east-west air routes face China, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Central Asian countries, as well as a series of international routes will pass through this area. Therefore, the airport will gradually become an air economic and trade hub in the future.

With this platform, it will be more convenient for international goods, especially Chinese goods, to arrive in Balochistan, and then be distributed to various cities in the country. Pakistan’s characteristic goods can also be transported more efficiently to all parts of the world, promoting local economic and trade development.

Except for the civilian field, China-Pakistan aviation cooperation in the military field can also be called fruitful. Fighter China-1 (FC-1), is an all-weather, single-engine, multi-purpose light fighter jointly invested and developed by two countries, which Pakistan side calls it Joint Fighter-17 Thunder (JF-17), and equips the Pakistan Air Force as the main fighter.

As early as June 1999, the two parties officially signed a cooperative research and development contract, entering the stage of prototype development.

On March 12, 2007, the fighter officially entered into service with the Pakistan Air Force. At present, JF-17 has developed three models, namely Block I, Block II and Block III, which have different avionics and weapon systems to meet different operational needs. As a milestone of Pakistan’s aviation industry, it marks the first time that Pakistan has own military production line, by which the country has improved the technical level and independent capabilities of aviation industry.

The development of the aviation field, as an indispensable aspect of China-Pakistan all-weather cooperation, reflecting the mature technical level and rich practical experience of the aviation personnel of the two countries. With the successful maiden flight of the first C919 commercial flight, bilateral aviation cooperation will undoubtedly contain more possibilities.

C919, China’s self-developed large passenger aircraft, kicked off its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on May 28, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market.

The flight, operated by China Eastern Airlines, took off as MU9191 at 10:32 a.m. with 128 passengers on board. With the registration number B-919A, it is the first C919 jetliner delivered worldwide.

As China’s first self-developed trunk jetliner in accordance with international airworthiness standards, and owns independent intellectual property rights.