Aircraft
China Buying Into World GA Market, Says Rand
Acquisition of, and partnerships with, Western aircraft manufacturers ease the nation’s entry into the aviation market.

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.