US aviation giant Boeing on Friday announced agreements with
Chinese suppliers for the production of commercial aircraft parts
and components, including the first firm contracts to build parts
for the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Passenger and Freighter
aircraft.
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The contracts are valued at an estimated US$500 million and
include the 747-8 inboard wing flaps with Xi'an Aircraft Industry
(Group) Company Ltd. (XAC), and ailerons and spoilers with Chengdu
Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co. Ltd. (CAC), both affiliated to
China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I).
Also signed were contracts for composite parts to be built by
Hafei Aviation Industry Co., Ltd., an AVIC II-affiliated company,
and composite panels for the vertical fin to be built by BHA Aero
Composites Co., Ltd., an equity joint venture between Boeing,
Hexcel Corp. and AVIC I.
"These contracts demonstrate Boeing's commitment to continued
expansion of industrial cooperation with China. China's outstanding
technological capabilities and resources make these suppliers ideal
partners for the Boeing 787 and the 747-8, which ... offer airlines
the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large
passenger or freighter aircraft," said Carolyn Corvi, Boeing
Commercial Airplanes vice president and general manager of Airplane
Programs.
"We are honored to help Boeing build the 747-8 as it opens a new
page for the long-term Boeing-XAC partnership," said Meng Xiangkai,
vice chairman of Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Company Ltd.
Boeing and Boeing suppliers hold contracts totaling US$2.5
billion with China's aviation industry.
Boeing's industrial cooperation with China began in the
mid-1970s. There are now 4,200 Boeing aircraft flying worldwide
with major parts built and assembled by Chinese suppliers. Since
the 1980s, Boeing has purchased more than US$1 billion worth of
aviation hardware from China.
(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2007)
