Tue, Oct 31, 2006
Will Not Open 'Symbolic' Factory
It's no secret that
China is booming right now, especially when it comes to commercial
airline orders. European planemaker Airbus is locked in a fierce
battle for those orders with its American rival, Boeing... and
you'd think Airbus gained a definite upperhand last week, when it
announced plans to build a production facility in China.
But the head of Boeing's China operation says that's not the
case... and furthermore, the planemaker has no plans to duplicate
Airbus' plans for a Chinese production facility.
"We have no plans to set up an assembly line at this time,"
David Wang told The Associated Press at China's biggest air show in
the southern city of Zhuhai. "We do not believe symbolic
investments lead to good business partnerships."
Instead, Wang says, Boeing contributes greatly to China's
economy through its relationships with Chinese parts suppliers, and
joint ventures such as its partnership with Evergreen Aviation
Technologies Corp. The Taipei-based company converts used 747
passenger planes into freighters.
Those partnerships -- worth $730 million over the past 20 years,
according to Wang -- seem to be working. Boeing accounts for about
60 percent of the roughly 900 planes flying for Chinese
airlines.
But Airbus is pushing to a bigger piece of that pie...
particularly with its agreement last week to open a final assembly
line in China for its A320 family of narrowbody aircraft. The
facility will be Airbus' first production facility outside
Europe.
As Aero-News reported, Airbus also won new orders for 150 A320s
from Chinese carriers. As you might have guessed,
those planes will be built at the Chinese plant... which makes one
wonder just how "symbolic" that plant will prove to be...
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