China to Become Aircraft Parts Manufacture Center

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 ◆ China to Become Aircraft Parts Manufacture Center

When people travel by air, they may not be aware that 25 percent of Boeing or Airbus plane parts are made in China. And this ratio will continue to . During the ongoing Zhuhai airshow, noted foreign exhibitors show their confidence in the China market, and have signed numerous contracts to increase their cooperation with China, including Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Fiat. Airbus signed contracts with three companies affiliated to the China Aviation Industry Corporation I to produce assemble parts for A320 planes. China will thus become one of the most booming markets in aircraft manufacture, thanks to its skilled employees as well as ahuge demand, said Guy Mcleod, president of Airbus China. This year marks the 30th anniversary of cooperation between Boeing and China. Boeing's partners in Shanghai, Shenyang and Chengdu can nowadays produce major plane parts. "China's aviation transportation will grow at an average annualincrease of 9 percent in the next 20 years. We hope to enhance cooperation with China to achieve win-win success," said Fred Howard, president of Boeing China. Embraer won the approval to produce regional jet with China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) recently. This will help promote aviation cooperation between South America and China.The first delivery of new plane will be at the end of 2003, said Guan Dongyuan, managing director of Embraer China. In the past two decades, China's aviation industry had carried out various international cooperation, such as going in for subcontracting and running joint venture firms. The assembled parts made in China for Airbus have exceeded 200 million US dollars, while more than 3,000 Boeing planes have assembled parts made in China. Foreign manufactures have also shown their keen interests in China's big market, low costs and experienced technique, experts said. The cooperation can not only raise China's manufacturing capabilities but also improve its management skills, said Xu Zhanbin, deputy general manager of AVIC II.