Lin Zuoming, general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), briefs to press about AVIC's exhibits in Zhuhai City, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 15, 2010. The 8th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition will kick off on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua)

By Xinhua Writers Hu Tao, Mao Haifeng, Yu Li

BEIJING, Nov.15 (Xinhua) -- The news that China is to open its low-altitude airspace to private aircraft -- on the eve of the 2010 Airshow China -- is expected to set off a boom in the aviation market.

Part of the low-altitude airspace will be opened to promote the country's general aviation sector, including the purchase and use of private planes, said a document jointly issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission on Sunday.

"The open airspace reform will definitely inject energy into the general aviation industry, and of course, some Chinese are hoping to realize their long-expected dreams of flying," said Lin Zuoming, general manager of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), on Monday.

The reform will be piloted in some areas next year and gradually extended to other parts of the country, according to the document.

This news is set to be the hottest topic at the eighth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China), which opens on Nov. 16 in Zhuhai, east China's Guangdong Province.

About 600 exhibitors and 70 different models of aircraft from around the world will be on show.

Stocks in aviation maintainance, management and pilot training industries were buoyed by the news Monday.

Shares in China Ocean Helicopter Company (COHC), which has China's largest civil helicopter squadron, jumped by 6.87 percent, while shares in Sichuan Haite High-Tech Co.,Ltd, a maintenance and aviation equipment specialist, were up 3.69 percent. Both companies are listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.