China's first light sport aircraft (LSA) equipped with independently-developed avionics and engine was delivered on Friday.
The aircraft, Aurora SA60L, was developed by Starair Aircraft Co., Ltd., based in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province in central China. It was granted civil aviation airworthiness certification in August 2025.
Liu Pengfei with Starair said that the first Aurora was delivered to Zhonghao (Chongqing) General Aviation Co., Ltd.
The new aircraft completed a 25-hour factory acceptance test flight, during which it was evaluated across 31 test subjects. Based on key performance indicators, including thrust-to-weight ratio, fuel consumption, vibration levels, and exterior craftsmanship, the domestically produced aircraft demonstrated satisfactory overall performance.
Xiao Huangxing, general manager of Starair's manned aircraft division, said that Aurora features China-made intelligent and data management platforms.
Aircraft engines and avionics systems account for a large proportion of the total value of the LSA. The Aurora's delivery significantly enhances the market competitiveness of China-made LSA, Xiao added.
Wang Qiang, head of Zhong Hao Airlines, also praised the aircraft's superior cost-efficiency and enhanced operational performance.
"Our company's core businesses primarily consist of flight training, flight experience services, aviation education and research programs, as well as commercial aircraft operations. With the addition of this new aircraft, we now operate a total fleet of five: four domestically produced Aurora planes and one rotorcraft. In terms of operational use, the Aurora is more cost-effective, more efficient, and easier to operate," said Wang.
China's first light sport aircraft with independently-developed avionics, engine delivered
China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.
Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.
Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.
"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.
China's development never a threat: FM spokesman
