China, Russia take step closer to new long-haul jet
Source: Reuters
China and Russia took a step closer on Wednesday to the joint development of a long-haul jet to challenge Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA), displaying a model of the unnamed plane that would compete with Western rivals.
State-owned planemakers Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] and United Aircraft Corp (UAC) of Russia said they had started the hunt to find suppliers, as they presented a mock-up of the wide-body jet at Airshow China. Neither firm gave details on financing or technical specifications for what Western analysts call a politically-driven initiative that will be difficult to pull off and is likely to carry a high price tag.
China opened the show on Tuesday in the southern city of Zhuhai with a brief flypast of its J-20 stealth fighter, in a demonstration of military clout.
Both countries are currently developing smaller narrow-body jets to compete with the best-selling Airbus and Boeing types.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-china-russia-widebody-idUSKBN12X1CO
Interesting. Perhaps pushing China and Russia together isn't really that great of a strategic geo-politics plan?
Aren't we suppose to cosy up to one or the other of them in the old divide and conquer game? Pardon my cynicism.
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the passenger airplane market all this time... Where the hell has your ass been? One does not simply jump into the widebody market with new, untested products...
This is a move of desperation, in case you haven't noticed -- It's more telling that Russia/China don't have the resources or will to build a proper widebody themselves, and are hoping going halfsies on vaporware will defray costs and get them some positive ink...
Yeah, they just might be.
Lets look at what the Harvard Business Review shows on the rate of their economic rise, which ultimately is the basis for military power too.
"Since the country opened its doors in 1978, the economy has witnessed tremendous growth. Its gross domestic product has surged from less than $150 billion in 1978 to $8,227 billion in 2012 (see “China’s GDP” chart below). In the process, more than 600 million people have escaped poverty. This is a marvelous achievement for any country, let alone one as geographically large and populous as China."
Wow, that's an awfully impressive trend, eh?
And as for your statement "China's so big and bad and on the cusp of global dominance, yet they still can't make a widebody airliner in-house?", China is in the process of focusing on technological innovation as a pathway to continued growth.
The Harvard Business Review discusses that:
"China, too, needs more technological innovation. China has almost tripled the share of its GDP devoted to R&D over the past 20 years, from 0.65% in 1993 to 1.97% in 2012 (See the “R&D Expenditure in China” chart below.) although it still remains below that of the US. This is attributable to China’s national technology strategy of “market access in exchange for technology.” The strategy stems from China’s desire to acquire new technology through technology transfer or foreign direct investment, and assimilate it through learning, imitation and other means. The ultimate goal is the ability to innovate independently. Chinese firms have realized that they cannot just purchase core technologies; they must create them on their own.'
So, yeah, I think China, perhaps with Russian technology transfer, would be capable of making wide body aircraft relatively shortly. Certainly within the 20 years I mentioned earlier.
Like it or not, China is a rising power. Better get use to it.
