Why is China important?
The creation of COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) is a ground-breaking move for the country and is behind the surge of investment in civil aviation.
Already, COMAC has built and flown the ARJ21 regional jet which made its first flight milestone in November 2008. The Chinese are committed to the ARJ regional jet programme, and have plans for a new larger aircraft programme which will compete with Boeing and Airbus and will enable China to reduce the dependence it has on overseas manufacturers.
This new 130 to 200-seat jet known as the C919 (C for Chinese, 9 as it means forever' in the Chinese culture and 19 to signify the launch 190 seats) is aimed at being a competitor to the Boeing and Airbus narrowbody airliners, and is expected to be on the market during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2015-20).
The design and production of the new aircraft are expected to start between 2011 and 2015 in Shanghai, with concept design and research on key technologies completed by 2010, and production started by 2014. China is also considering embarking on a manufacturing programme for helicopters, for business jets and for engine manufacture.
China's government will consider inward investment to its aerospace industry CAATS therefore offers a superb opportunity for overseas companies to present their strength, standing and commitment to China as a whole. The ARJ21 programme already has 19 foreign suppliers providing parts and components.
At the end of 2008 COMAC reported that it had received 208 orders for the regional aircraft, including a deal for 25 units with GE Commercial Aviation Services the company's first overseas deal worth 5 billion yuan. Delivery of these 70-90 seat aircraft will begin in 2013.
Domestic carriers have ordered 181 ARJ aircraft, with Shenzhen Airlines requiring 100.
China has also received 136 orders for the MA60, a propeller-driven commuter aircraft manufactured by the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group.
Gao Jianshe, AVIC's executive vice president was reported by the Reuters news agency as saying: "Our goal is to become globally competitive and to do that, we need executives with international experience."
Remember:
- The world is forecast to need 20,000 single-aisle aircraft in this category over the next 20 years, with China requiring more than 15% of this. The country is still enjoying a remarkable 11% growth in domestic air travel. This is translated by COMAC into a requirement for 3,110 new planes in the next two decades
- Parts and components will be sourced globally, emulating the model adopted by Airbus and Boeing this will make CAATS attractive to international aerospace companies looking to win orders for the programme. China has pledged to develop its domestic aerospace industry in order to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers. All facets of the process, from design and production, to sourcing materials and assembly, will be done in China
- The country will set up three research and assembly centres to lead the development of larger aircraft. Research work on the ARJ21 aircraft, the country's first civil jet, and precursor to the new larger aircraft, will be sped up, as the model enters production
- China will also require human resource and skills expertise to meet its demands, The supply chain in China will be recruiting internationally
- China is forecast to need 993 regional aircraft over the next 20 years. It is already a successful industry. AVIC notched up 2008 sales of CNY166 billion yuan (USD$24.3 billion) compared with USD$60.1 billion for Boeing
