Eric's Beijing Diary

Went to the Air Traffic Control exhibition in Beijing today. Lots of interesting displays. Lockheed Martin had a capture of the traffic pattern at Heathrow, and the whole air traffic control system was running on a laptop computer.

Beijing is not a terribly busy airport right now, but the volume of air traffic in China over the next five or ten years is expected to increase by several orders of magnitude. The technology I saw today will not eliminate the need for skilled professionals (particularly skilled pilots and skilled air traffic controllers). But it will allow for a significant increase in volume of traffic without compromising safety.

Another interesting feature of this phenomenon is that companies from Europe that find it all but impossible to compete in the American market, are welcome in China, and are making headway. I talked with a corporate representative from Zurich, and one from Sweden. The guy from the Swiss company told me that it was absolutely impossible for him to break into the American market, but here in China he already has a couple systems in place. China really has become the new "land of opportunity" as far as international business is concerned.