BEIJING (AP) — China plans to set up its own company to make passenger jumbo jets, making it less dependent on Boeing and Airbus, official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday.
China's two main aircraft manufacturing and servicing companies were discussing cooperation plans for the project, Xinhua said.
The Shanghai government, aviation companies, and other state-owned companies will invest in the project, Xinhua said, citing Jin Xingming, director of the aviation administration of Shanghai.
The companies involved are China Aviation Industry Corporation I, and China Aviation Industry Corporation II, which were split off from state-owned China Aviation Industry Corp. in 1999.
The plan marks a step forward in China's long-term quest to design and build large aircraft, referred to in Premier Wen Jiabao's speech to the national legislature on Wednesday.
France-based airplane maker Airbus forecasts that China's domestic market is expected to increase fivefold by 2026. It and Chicago-based rival Boeing share a duopoly on the market for commercial airplanes carrying 100 or more people.
