China plane-makers take first steps to rival global giants

China's fledgling aerospace industry took a major leap forward Tuesday at the nation's only international air show as it announced its first sale of commercial aircraft to a US company. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) confirmed the sale of five home-made jets to the aircraft leasing arm of General Electric with an option for the firm to buy 20 more, the two companies said in a statement.
The contract, signed on the sidelines of Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai, makes GE Commercial Aviation Services the first overseas leasing firm to buy a Chinese-made commercial plane, they said. Delivery of the ARJ21s - which stands for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century - will start in 2013, according to the statement. The official Xinhua news agency said the contract for all 25 planes was worth 735 million dollars.
GE, which supplies the engines for the ARJ21, was planning to lease the planes to the China market, it said. The ARJ21 has yet to make its maiden voyage, nor has it been approved by Chinese or American aviation regulators, reports have said. The plane, which carries between 70 and 90 passengers, and other jets to be produced by CACC, are widely seen as part of a Chinese plan to eventually rival the dominance of aviation giants Airbus and Boeing.
Moreover, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a key backer of CACC, plans to acquire a foreign aircraft manufacturer, the state-run China Daily said Tuesday, citing Tan Weidong, president of one of the firm's subsidiaries.
Despite the lofty ambitions, China's government and CACC have been keen to stress that producing bigger planes to rival the global giants is a long-term goal that will take until at least 2020. US-based Boeing and Airbus of Europe headed around 600 civil and military manufacturers, suppliers and designers who gathered in Zhuhai for the biennial Airshow China, which lasts until Sunday. Airbus said Tuesday it had secured an order for 20 of its A320 aircraft from the aviation leasing arm of the Bank of China, one of the country's largest lenders. "Bank of China Aviation has used the occasion of the Zhuhai air show to place an order with us for 20 A320 aircraft," Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy told reporters.