China will
reportedly launch its first homegrown jumbo passenger jet manufacturer, which, at least according to official state media, could eventually rival Airbus and Boeing Co. The joint venture -- whose largest shareholders will be the Shanghai government and the state-owned China Aviation Industry Corp.'s I & II -- is set to launch in May.
So how did the two AICs get good enough to try and move beyond the small and medium-sized aircraft China has made to date? Partly by working with Boeing and Airbus.
Boeing has been collaborating with Chinese partners since 1972;
Airbus since 1990. For example, one of the AICs is making the composite rudder for Boeing's
787 Dreamliner. And both companies have trained thousands of Chinese maintenance engineers, pilots and flight attendants.
It's no secret that China has long sought to move beyond its distinction as the world's low-cost manufacturing center and build a knowledge-based economy. Part of its strategy for accomplishing that has been to encourage foreign companies to set up shop, often through joint ventures and other alliances with Chinese firms. Not only do these ventures create jobs, they also help train a Chinese national work force with technical expertise in industries such as aerospace.
Long ago, companies like Boeing and Airbus looked at China's fast-growing market (its airlines are among the world's best customers for new planes) and embarked on a series of deals that mixed corporate strategy with many other factors, from diplomacy to labor relations in their home markets to global macroeconomics. It will be at least a decade before China can make big jets,
analysts reckon, and in statements both Boeing and Airbus welcomed the new entrant to the market. But as China's inevitable progress continues, it would only be natural if they sometimes wonder in private whether they're getting the tradeoffs just right. -
Suzanne Stevens
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