As passenger numbers soar, airports and airlines in China are investing more than their overseas counterparts in IT, cyber security and baggage handling, a new report shows.

The SITA 2018 Air Transport IT Insights show Chinese airports increasing funding in IT from 5.6 per cent of revenue in 2017 to 7.5 per cent  in 2018, higher than the global average of 5.69 per cent.

Meanwhile SITA analysed nine different areas of cyber security and their rate of implementation, with airlines and airports in China rating higher than the rest of the world in all nine areas.

Airline passenger numbers in China rose nearly 13 per cent to more than one billion over the past year.

The SITA report also notes that China is investing significantly more in baggage management.