China has become the second largest fuel consumer in the world, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Li Jiaxiang said at the 2012 International Aviation Fuel Conference and Exhibition in Beijing on Apr. 5.

Li said, Chinese carries handled a total turnover volume of 57.3 billion ton kilometers, inlcuding passenger traffic volume of 293 million. Currently, China has 47 passenger and cargo airlines, 180 transport airports, 123 general aviation enterprises and a fleet of 2,888 aircraft which include 1,764 transport aircraft and 1,124 general aviation aircraft.

Accompanied by the rapid development of China's civil aviation industry, the sales of aviation fuel achieved more than 17 million tons last year in the mainland. China has 12 aviation fuel enterprises of different scales, among which China National Aviation Fuel Group Corporation (CNAF) has become the largest aviation fuel supplier in Asia, said Li Jiaxiang.

President of CNAF Sun Li said, currently CNAF supplies jet fuel to nearly 200 airlines worldwide and provides refueling services at nearly 170 airports in China.

Li said China's civil aviation sector will focus on promoting three major strategies - sustained security, popularization and globalization. By the end of 2015, China is expected to have more than 230 civil airports, 2,700 transport aircraft and 2,000 general aviation aircraft, and handle up to 450 million passengers. By 2020, the nation will strive to meet the market demand of handling around 700 million air passengers.

Li said China's civil aviation sector is in urgent need of establishing a safe and stable, economic and efficient jet fuel supply system, breeding aviation fuel suppliers which can adapt to the rapid development of the sector and meet the demands of the civil aviation enterprises.

China has realized the linkage of domestic jet fuel price with international price. Jet fuel suppliers should speed up building an aviation fuel network to reduce logistics cost of aviation fuel and support the fast development of China's civil aviation and energy sectors, said Liu Tienan, head of National Energy Administration.

More than 400 officials and experts from the related departments of the Chinese government, international industry associations, as well as the well-known domestic and foreign oil companies and airline companies gathered here on Apr. 5 and discussed how to ensure stable and safe supply of jet fuel.

International Aviation Fuel Conference and Exhibition was launched by Armbrust Aviation Group (AAG) in 1998, and held every two years. It is the first time ever held in Asia, co-hosted by the AAG and CNAF.