Deer Jet now operates 23 corporate jets, two of which are owned by private customers. This year at least another 10 new jets, purchased by private customers, will join the fleet, Zhang said.

Private customers usually buy business jets and ask a company to manage the jets by providing pilots and services such as maintenance, onboard services and ground handling.

Despite a slowdown in the use of private jets in the United States and Europe last year due to the economic crisis, the flight hours of business jets in China rose 40 percent year-on-year in 2009 and this figure is expected to surge 60 percent this year, Zhang said.

China's private jet market is expected to witness the world's fastest annual growth rate of 15.6 percent from 2009 to 2018, according to a report issued by Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier.

Currently about 30 private jets are registered on the mainland, compared with over 10,000 in the US, according to figures from Deer Jet.

China's strict air space regulation, high import duties and the lack of infrastructure for business aviation have been named as major obstacles for the growth of corporate jet market.

Deer Jet, which is also a subsidiary of China's fourth-largest airline company HNA Group, said on Thursday that it will become the first Chinese operator to dedicate an Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) for charter flights later this year. ACJ, with a list price of $75 million, is based on the airframe of the A319, a single-aisle, medium-range airliner. It can offer nonstop charter flights throughout China and most of the Asia-Pacific.

Airbus has sold 20 corporate jets to the Greater China region, three of which are operated and registered on the mainland.

The 6th China Jilin Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Exposition (Northeast Asia Expo) will be held at the Changchun International Convention Exhibition Center, Jilin provice, from Sept 2, 2010 to Sept. 6, 2010, according to a press conference held in Beijing today.

The expo is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Government of Jilin Province. The international regional exposition will feature representatives from six countries in Northeast Asia.

According to statistics, the first five expos achieved a combined commodity trading volume of 2.1 billion U.S. dollars. Countries have initiated over 1,000 trade and cooperation programs with total combined investment capital of more than 460 billion yuan.

It has become a significant platform for economic and trade communication among nations in northeast Asia. The expo has facilitated economic and trade cooperation for the old industrial base of northeast China. The Northeast Asia Expo also offers a platform for economic liberalization and realization of the development strategy in Changchun, Jilin and Tumen River area by encouraging closer trade relations between China's northeastern region and its adjacent countries.