BEIJING
- Hundreds of large planes fly in and out of
Chinese airports daily but none of them sports
a made-in-China label. However, the picture
will change in 10-15 years, when locally
developed large aircraft offer more choice to
Chinese carriers, which currently use only Boeing and
Airbus.
"The large-plane project is being
carefully studied," said Huang Qiang, secretary
general of the Commission of Science, Technology
and Industry for National Defense. "We estimate
that within two or three five-year-plan periods,
our large planes will
come
into use."
It is the first time officials
have specified a timetable for a project, which
Huang said has led to widespread interest among
the public and will be a cause for concern for
foreign aircraft makers.
In China, key
projects are usually part of national five-year
plans - developing large planes was listed as a
priority project in the 11th Five-Year Plan
(2006-10), commission officials said earlier.
There have been mounting calls from the
public for early implementation of the large-plane
project, a program that "has also kept Boeing and
Airbus on their toes", Huang told a press
conference on the sidelines of the commission's
annual work conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
Used for both military and civilian
purposes, large aircraft have a load capacity of
at least 100 tons; a passenger carrier of that
size usually has 200 seats, experts said.
Huang said the large-aircraft project can
build on the expertise and experience of the
aviation industry, particularly of the ARJ21,
China's Advanced Regional Jet, the manufacture of
which began in December 2003.
The China
Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) has clinched 71
orders for ARJ21 jets, even though the regional
plane will have test flights only next year,
according to Huang.
The reasons for its
success are that the company offers
medium-capacity jets of the best quality at a
competitive price, which best suits Chinese market
needs, according to Liu Gaozhuo, former AVIC I
president, who said he believes the same will be
true for China's large aircraft.
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