China launches state-owned aircraft engine maker: state media

The government has been overhauling its state-owned sector to push Chinese products and services up the value chain. Under that drive, it has prioritized aircraft engines, high-speed rail and nuclear power as areas it wants China to excel.

China’s cabinet, Beijing municipal government, the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China are investors of the new company, it said.

The new company, called China Aero-Engine Group and with 96,000 employees, will focus on designing, manufacturing and testing of aircraft engines, the report said, adding that it will be of “great significant for the future development of China’s aviation industry”.

In March, state-owned AVIC said it was finalizing a 129 billion yuan merger of its aircraft engine businesses, in a move to create a giant that could eventually compete with the likes of United Technologies Corp’s aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney.