| China likely to seek foreign partners in developing jumbos |
SHANGHAI, Mar. 29 (AP) -- China will likely seek foreign partners in developing a large domestically produced commercial aircraft, an aviation industry executive was quoted on Thursday as saying.
The Shanghai Daily newspaper said China's government plans to set up an entirely new company to take on the project, which was given formal approval by the cabinet earlier this month.
However, foreign partners will likely be sought to help reduce risk, the paper quoted Fu Shula, president of the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp., as saying.
"The global trend in the aircraft manufacturing industry is to invite foreign partners to invest and codevelop components and products and share the profits and risks," it quoted Fu as saying.
"China is likely to adopt the model in the development of its own big aircraft," Fu said.
Fu's company, also known as CATIC, is a subsidiary of state-owned China Aviation Industry Corporation I, or AVIC I, which is building China's first commercial jet airliner, the mid-size ARJ-21 regional jet, which is expected to carry 70-110 passengers.
Despite that plane's reputation as homegrown, about 40 percent of its components are produced by 19 separate foreign manufacturers, the paper said.
China has set a target of 2020 for production of the larger aircraft, a design that will seat more than 150 passengers.
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