Posted on 03/20/2007 12:46:40 PM PDT by Paul Ross
China says approves plan to develop large jets
Staff, Reuters News, 03/18/2007
BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - The Chinese cabinet has approved in principle a plan to develop the country's own large passenger jets, the government said on Sunday, in a move that could challenge the dominance of Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and Airbus.
The State Council, China's cabinet, has also given the go-ahead to set up a company to build the aircraft, the government said in a statement on its Web site (www.gov.cn).
"The State Council meeting believes that building large aircraft is an important, strategic policy of the Communist Party and State Council, and it has also been the wish of the entire nation for many years," the statement said. "Our country has been developing the aviation industry for 50 years, and already has the technical and material base to develop large aircraft."
The statement said the decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao on Feb. 26. It did not say why it had taken so long to announce.
The statement gave no other details, such as investment figures or where or when the aircraft might be made.
Industry sources told Reuters earlier this month that China's two state aircraft makers, AVIC I and AVIC II, as well as the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defence, would be involved in developing the jets.
AVIC I and AVIC II, both of which make components for Airbus and Boeing, also have experience in civilian jet development and manufacturing.
AVIC I has secured more than 30 orders for its ARJ21 regional jet, scheduled for commercial operation next year, while AVIC II unit Hafei Aviation Industry Co. (600038.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) makes the ERJ-145 regional craft in partnership with Brazil's Embraer (ERJ.N: Quote, Profile , Research)(EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile , Research).
With its air passenger traffic growing at double-digit rates in recent years, China will need about 2,650 new passenger aircraft over the next 20 years, worth $289 billion, according to the latest projections from Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile , Research).
I wonder if some chinese technical people just left boeing with a raft of trade secrets. Nah.
They didn't have to. Al Gore probably already gave them the plans.
Airbus announced plans last fall to open a factory in China. Useful information will be learned there by the communists. Of course China was going to eventually start making their own airplanes. Anybody could have saw this coming.
I will never enter a Chinese plane. I don't trust Chicom quality.
The Lion does not sleep tonite.
I can't help thinking, that these
planes are going to go the way of
the SST.
A very small niche market, that
eventually won't be able to
support the building and
maintenance of these planes, nor
their required runways.
And the ARJ21 will have a fully suite of Rockwell Collins Avionics.
It goes on and on, underestimating your foe is a natural human tendency.
If you want on or off the list, go to the link for instructions. Otherwise, it won't be guaranteed that you will be put on or taken off (it still won't be 100% guaranteed, anyway, but will be much more highly probable).
They got the plans & frames needed for construction and dies for some of our older model planes during the Clinton administration.
That was part of the Chinese connection with Loral and the large political donations (bribes) that occurred. Everyone forgets so fast with the rush of info coming through the computers every day.
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