The Chinese government would encourage and support China's aviation and aerospace firms to actively develop domestic and overseas markets and make full use of resources from home and abroad to raise their competitiveness, he said on Sunday at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Forum 2002 in Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province.

In the civil aviation area, the government was encouraging Chinese companies to set up individual technology cooperative deals, and different types of international technology cooperation like consultations and exchanges, he said.

It was also encouraging foreign partners to share the development of new regional aircraft projects and foreign firms to co-produce with Chinese companies small-sized aircraft, helicopters and engines. The government was also urge exports of high-tech civil aircraft products and promoting bilateral airworthiness agreements with other countries to push the Chinese-made civil aircraft on to the world market.

In the aerospace field, the government regarded regional space cooperation in the Asian-Pacific area as important, he said. It also supported regional space cooperation in other areas of the world. It was encouraging Chinese and foreign scientific research institutions to set up multi-layer cooperation on aerospace activities under the guidance of the country's national policies on aerospace management.

Meanwhile, the government was encouraging aerospace companies to focus on expanding product exports and services provided they abided by China's foreign policies, national security policies, international treaties and conventions it had signed.

The government would support Chinese aerospace firms taking part in the international commercial aerospace arena under the principles of equality, fairness and mutual benefit.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2002)