China will implement global tracking and surveillance of airliners on a full scale starting December 1, a move that will help improve the safety monitoring capability of civil aviation and the development of a civil aviation safety assurance system in the country.

The global tracking and surveillance program requires all Chinese civil airliners to send their position information, including longitude, latitude and altitude to the ground operational control units via existing airborne equipment every 15 minutes or less, so that the ground can learn the precise position of an airliner in flight on a real-time basis.

China plans to achieve seamless global tracking and surveillance of its civil aircraft under all types of operating modes before the end of 2020, and develop a homegrown aircraft tracking and surveillance system before the end of 2025.