President Xi wants further development of the aeronautics industry to further modernize the PLA. (Photo : Getty Images)
President Xi Yingping expressed excitement and called for more research on aeronautics manufacturing of engines and turbines to build a stronger aviation industry on Wednesday.
Xi also said that further innovations in the industry will lead to a stronger air force. This will be carried out by the new Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), a newly established enterprise in Beijing.
The AECC has a capital outlay of 50 billion yuan or $7.5 billion. Investors include the Chinese government and two state-owned firms: Aviation Industry Corp. of China, an aerospace and defense conglomerate, and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, which produces passenger jets.
The company has 96,000 employees and Cao Jianguo, 53, former general manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, is the AECC chairman.
China intends to catch up in the aeronautics race as the country is far behind the innovations developed by the United States.
The most advanced aviation engines that fill up the U.S.'s Lockheed Martin F-22 and Russia's Sukhoi Su-35, internationally known as the best combat planes, are only produced by the five members of the United Nations Security Council.
The Chinese military claims that the aircraft used by the People's Liberation Army are imported from Russia. These planes are the J-10 fighter jet and Y-20 transport plane.
Wang Ya'nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said, "The establishment of an aircraft engine firm will strengthen China's capability in the aviation field and improve efficiency in research and development."
According to Yin Zeyong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of AECC's science and technology commission, China is determined to develop more research on aerospace engines, similar to the developments they've done to the WS-10 "Taihang" turbofan have been introduced and installed on some J-10 and J-11 fighter jets.
