When things get moving in China, they can move quickly. Until about four years ago, Chinese demand for business aviation was one of those things that was forever coming, forever predicted, but never a reality. Then, when orders from China finally began picking up, around 2008, the market revealed its immaturity: almost all the buyers wanted large aircraft. With no business aviation culture, the only people who thought of flying in business aircraft were extremely rich individuals and top managers of huge companies.

Like its Western allies, Australia has had its share of troubled military procurement programs that missed cost and delivery targets. The Kaman Super Seasprite naval helicopter never entered service, for example, despite government expenditures of $1 billion. But Australia also deserves credit for innovations in program management that may hold lessons for other countries. While they offer no guarantee of success, they are worth a closer look.

Beijing is thought to be planning unspecified countermeasures against the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) after the country’s airlines said they would not comply with the law, which went into effect Jan. 1.