Beijing to boost general aviation development activities with new JV

Beijing: Mainland China has announced the setting set up of a general aviation manufacturing company on Tuesday, the first of its kind in the nominally communist country. The company will launch research and development, manufacturing as well as sales and operation activities in the general aviation field.

With an investment of 100 million yuan (about $15.7 million), the newly launched Beijing General Aviation (Group) Co Ltd (BGAG) will be a partnership of the Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) and the Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics).

Both these entities will invest through capital and technologies in the newly formed company.

The two sides, according to BAIC officials, have set four goals, including building up research and development capabilities, industrializing general aviation engines, avionics equipment and general aircraft, synchronizing the technology to the world's most advanced levels by cooperating with foreign companies, and forming a complete industrial chain.

The automotive and aviation industries are two complimentary industries that have similar technologies in many aspects, especially in their power systems, and BAIC has a strong technology background in general aviation, said Zhu Suiyu, director of the industrial layout office of BAIC.

General aviation refers to aircraft and services other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights.