China’s commercial aviation manufacturing sector is challenged to match Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer in building large passenger jets. But it faces brighter prospects in building general aviation and business aircraft, according to a Rand study released last month.
While Chinese and Western manufacturers have entered into joint-venture partnerships to build the indigenous Comac C919 and ARJ21 passenger jets, the country is “buying its way into the international market” for general aviation (GA) aircraft, states the study (The Effectiveness of China’s Industrial Policies in Commercial Aviation Manufacturing). It cites as examples the 2011 acquisition of U.S. manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (Caiga) and Caiga’s 2012 joint-venture signing with Cessna to assemble the Citation XLS+ in China.
Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic), the country’s largest aircraft manufacturing concern, joined with the Guangdong provincial government in July 2009 to form Caiga, and “organizationally it may be the most modern of the Avic direct subsidiaries,” the study authors say. “Avic, with the assistance of the Chinese government, has embarked on an ambitious program of developing China’s general aviation manufacturing capabilities through…Caiga.”
By acquiring Cirrus, Caiga gained access to its manufacturing and research and development capabilities, although U.S. regulators signed off on the deal only after gaining assurances that Cirrus would continue manufacturing in Duluth, Minn. In March, the piston-engine airplane manufacturer announced the maiden flight of its first conforming Vision SF50 light jet, a type the company expects will enter service next year.
Under Caiga’s joint venture with Cessna, sealed at Airshow China 2012, Cessna’s Wichita factory will provide Citation components, parts and subassemblies to Caiga for final assembly in Zhuhai and delivery to Chinese customers. “Caiga is intent on learning manufacturing technologies associated with assembling the Citation and bringing an increasing share of the assembly work to China,” the Rand study states. “Cessna’s interest in the joint venture is driven in part by the potential of Avic to assist in inducing regulatory changes in China concerning use of airspace and flight notification times that would make purchases of corporate jets more attractive in China.”
Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing, another Avic subsidiary, formed a joint venture with Embraer to assemble ERJ 145 regional jets in December 2002, and delivered its first jet in February 2004. “However, the venture struggled from the start” and managed to deliver only 41 jets over seven years before production ended in April 2011, the study authors say. In 2012, the companies announced the conversion of the Harbin facility to assemble Embraer’s large-cabin Legacy 650. Last August, the first Legacy 650 built in China completed its maiden flight.
Lack of deep experience in the GA sector may be Caiga’s greatest challenge, the Rand study postulates. Other than its relationships with foreign manufacturers, the company has produced just one airplane with a substantial service record: the Shijiazhuang Y-5B biplane, based on a Soviet design. Aircraft types under development in Zhuhai include designs purchased from kitplane manufacturer Epic Aircraft, of Bend, Ore., during its 2009 bankruptcy reorganization. “As uncertified amateur kit planes, these designs require substantial development before they can enter commercial service,” according to Rand.
China’s overall commercial aviation industry more than doubled its sales between 2005 and 2010, according to the study, which cites the China Civil Aviation Industry Statistics Yearbook as its source for revenue figures. The industry remained domestically focused. In 2010, it generated $16 billion in sales, of which 13 percent were from exports. It employed 254,844 workers, just 20,454 more than in 2005.
