The Aviation Industry Corporation of China has teamed up with Guangdong provincial government to set up China's first general aircraft company in Zhuhai. The newly-established firm will cover a whole section of the industrial chain, from research to aircraft parts production, assembly and sales.

The AVIC General Aircraft Company is one of the Corporation's core businesses. It has registered capital of 10 billion yuan.

The new company will mainly produce self-developed general aircraft. Its Zhuhai headquarters will set up R&D and sales centers, conduct final assembly, offer test flights and be a base for service requirements.

Xu Zhanbin, Vice GM of AVIC said "We are planning to finish the first phase of the project in two years. It's expected to make around 100 small aircraft annually."

The development of China's general aircraft industry has lagged behind other aviation sectors. By the end of 2008, the nation has only around 800 general aircraft. That's a drop compared to the global market which includes a total of 340-thousand general aircraft.

However, the market prospects are bright. It's forecast that China will need over 15-thousand general aircraft in the coming 15 years. It's a huge opportunity for the new company.

Xu Zhanbin, Vice GM of AVIC said "We are planning to meet the demands of the domestic and parts of the global market within 10 years. We will mainly produce aviation products, but will also cover non-aviation ones."

The AVIC says it aims to achieve 100 billion yuan worth of turnover in ten years. And it has ambitions of gaining one-third of the global general aircraft market within eight years.

(CCTV July 3, 2009)