BEIJING — China’s civil aviation market is expected to see the air passenger volume reach 1.6 billion by 2037, according to the latest forecast of International Air Transport Association (IATA).

China is now the world’s second largest civil aviation market. IATA forecasts that China will become the world’s largest civil aviation market by 2024-2025, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

“China is becoming the key influencer of global civil aviation industry. And China’s civil aviation authorities is key dynamic force in powering global civil aviation industry,” de Juniac told Xinhua during his visit in Beijing.

“The global civil aviation market has shown an apparent eastward shift to Asia, with China as the major impetus. And IATA is shifting our focus to the surging market here,” he said, adding that China has most members of IATA.

The country’s civil aviation industry handled 610 million passenger trips in 2018, representing an 11.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.