BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's civil aviation sector expanded at a steady rate in the first seven months of the year, official data showed.

Total air transport turnover reached 68.8 billion tonne-km in the Jan.-July period, up 12.8 percent year on year, a faster growth than the 12.5-percent increase for 2017, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

A total of 350.3 million passenger trips were made during the period, up 12.1 percent year on year, compared with a 13-percent increase last year. Cargo turnover rose 6.6 percent year-on-year to 4.1 million tonnes.

China has the world's second-largest aviation market, after the United States of America. The country aims to realize 142 billion tonne-km of air transport turnover by 2020, with passenger trips to reach 720 million a year.