Aerial photo of the Phoenix-shaped terminal of Daxing Airport in southern Beijing. Photo: Courtesy of Tao Ran

China is set to further open its domestic civil aviation industry capping foreign investment access limits in only certain areas including public air transport, general aviation, and civil airports, officials said on Tuesday.

The opening-up is in line with the Foreign Investment Law implemented on January 1, 2020, which will guarantee greater market access and stronger protection for foreign investors.

CAAC scrapped regulations on foreign investment in civil aviation industry made in 2002, the opening-up policy will provide a more optimized and straightforward pathways for foreign investment into the civil aviation industry, and will have a clear map for the negative lists for overseas investment, Yang Ying, an official from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said.

Currently, the degree of openness to China's civil aviation is at a relatively high level among the world's major aviation countries, Yang added.

Yang said airports and air cargo companies are the two major sectors to attract foreign investment, which is attracting 70 percent of total foreign investment. Take 2019 as an example, there were six airports which attracted foreign capital among 20 airports with the largest passenger throughput in China.

CAAC said the move simplified the approval procedures for foreign investment projects, and clarified the direction of foreign investment.

CAAC official said in September last year that it pledged to implement a more transparent opening strategy, supporting the building of BRI free trade zones and ports, while pushing for reforms of global civil aviation governance, and seek a greater degree of opening-up of the nation's civil aviation sector.