As the North American and European aviation industries retrench and regroup, the worldwide economic crisis seems to have missed China, at least as far as investment in aviation projects is concerned. Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) announced today that it is investing $3 billion in three projects in the Beijing area that would seem designed to vault the country into being a player in the international aviation market. According to China Daily, AVIC intends to build facilities to build engines, airborne systems and composite structures as it continues its aggressive campaign to build a homegrown aerospace industry.
The move is part of a consolidation of the state-owned company in the past year and AVIC now has six divisions that cross the spectrum of the aviation industry, from large commercial jets to GA. To further those goals, AVIC is perhaps taking advantage of the tough times in much of the aviation world by doing some headhunting. “Our goal is to become globally competitive,” Gao Jianshe, the group’s executive vice president, told Reuters. “And to do that, we need executives with international experience.”
