China Aviation Industry (AVIC) II plans to separate the military and civil businesses of Shaanxi Aircraft, a move AVIC I recently undertook with subsidiaries Chengdu Aircraft and Shenyang Aircraft.
President of AVIC II, Zhang Hongbiao, says: "We want to separate the civil and the military" aspects of Shaanxi Aircraft and this is the direction "we will follow".
"But that doesn't mean we will combine the civil [businesses] of Shannxi Aircraft and Harbin Aircraft," he adds.
Clear separation of China's military and civil work is something western suppliers welcome because it makes it easier for them to do business with China and allay concerns, particularly among US politicians, that transferring technology to China might inadvertently help China's military.
AVIC I executive vice-president Hu Wenming says Xian Aircraft International is now the biggest shareholder in Shenyang Commercial Aircraft and Chengdu Commercial Aircraft with a 45% stake in each.
He says that AVIC I has a strategy to develop "centres of excellence", and that all future civil aircraft programmes will follow the same collaborative approach of China's ARJ21 regional jet programme.
This will mean that instead of have one factory producing the whole aircraft, several AVIC I factories will contribute and specialise in producing a major section of the aircraft.
Source: Flight International
