The first Sino-Brazilian ERJ145 regional jet aircraft passed a 10-minute flight trial Tuesday in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The 50-seat turbofan aircraft was assembled by the Harbin-based Embraer Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd, a joint venture established in January 2003 between China's Hafei Aviation Industry Co., Ltd and Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A (Embraer) of Brazil, the world's fourth largest aircraft manufacturer that entered China in 2000.

The joint venture was capable of producing up to 24 aircraft annually, and would produce eight jets in 2004, said Cui Xuewen, president of the joint venture and the Harbin-based Hafei Group.

The newly assembled ERJ145 is equipped with a Rolls Royce engine and has a range of 2,600 kilometers, according to Cui. "Parts of the second jet in the pipeline will be produced in China through subcontract," he said.

International collaboration in the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft would help China's aviation industry adapt to new market demands, said Zhang Yanzhong, general manager of the China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II), at Tuesday's roll-out ceremony of the new jet.

AVIC II is a state-owned enterprise responsible for the research and development of transport, general, training and military aircraft and helicopters. It owns 81 enterprises, including the Hafei Group, and has registered capital of 53 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion).

The ERJ series is a new generation of turbofan regional jets that were first put on the market by Embraer in 1996. They have taken the lion's share of the global aviation market, with 700 aircraft already delivered to end-users.

Market surveys conducted among Chinese airlines show regional aircraft enjoy rosy market prospects as more air routes have been opened between Chinese cities.

It is estimated that in the next 20 years, domestic demand for regional aircraft will exceed 600 and international market demand will surpass 4,000.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2003)