Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Taiwan and moved to the USA in 1988. I am based in San Francisco’s East Bay and operate a satellite office in Beijing, China.
How did you begin in aviation?
Before joining my father’s business, I was a commission salesman for a US encyclopedia company in Taipei, Taiwan. Two years of experience in this taught me that the best way to sell a product is to create a need for it. After joining Uniworld, founded by my father JS Chao in 1970, I became involved with aviation, specifically avionics and ground-to-air communication. Uniworld represents many US companies in Taiwan selling defence electronics to Taiwan military end-users. This work exposed me to aviation operations and procedures, which deeply attracted me to aviation by showing me how a high speed industry involving such great risk can still be so safe and trustworthy. Currently, I am Uniworld’s sole owner, helping American and European companies do business in China.
What are the big differences in China?
Due to my background and experience in selling aviation-related products and services in China, I was given the opportunity to work as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense in US-China aviation exchange programmes for more than 10 years, during which China’s aviation industry grew at a rapid pace. I participated in many important meetings where I witnessed how instrumental the help the USA provided was in building China’s aviation industry. Without aviation, globalisation, and computerisation, I believe that China’s efforts for reform and opening up would have been much more challenging and time-consuming. Attending these meetings made me realise that the USA’s strategy aims to build everything from the bottom-up based on market needs, while China works from the top-down based on government planning. General aviation is a great example of this. Since China’s government neglected to plan toward it, it constructed no regulations and provided no means of implementation. This has put China in an embarrassing position as the world’s second largest aviation nation, but with no general aviation industry.
General aviation is key?
This made me consider the sustainability of China’s aviation industry, and wonder how far it could go without the support of GA. In 2000, I made GA my priority in doing business in China by teaching its benefits in China through publications, forums, and international exchanges. Spreading the message of GA has become my mission in China for the last 15 years. A shortage of pilots, mechanics, and flying schools has closed the industry to the general public, which not only risks greatly slowing the growth of aviation in China, but also of dampening the nation’s aviation safety standards.
How can the West help?
In the US-China aviation exchanges, I noticed that the USA avoided directly telling China what to do. Rather, the FAA and DoD shared mistakes made on our path toward becoming the world leader in aviation. Lessons learned can be the best way of teaching the Chinese, who are often too proud of their culture and history to accept direct instruction from the USA.
Since 2001, I have hosted the first International GA Forum in China. This annual meeting promotes the sharing of information, experience, and knowledge in how GA can contribute to economic growth in China. In addition, I have printed and distributed 40,000 copies of my 135-page book “What is General Aviation” to government and private sectors in China. Many current GA operators in China have joined the industry because of these efforts, and I am very proud to have made this contribution.
What’s next?
With China opening its airspace to general aviation, the Chinese civil aviation authority, CAAC, has estimated that more than 2,000 GA airports will be built by 2030. Imagine the number of aircraft, pilots, training facilities, and avionics that will be needed there in the next 10-15 years.
Source: Flight International
