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China To Build Its Own Large Jetliner
Hugh Pickens writes "China's domestic airlines will need to buy an estimated 4,330 new aircraft valued at $480 billion over the next two decades to meet demand in commercial aviation. Now the LA Times reports that the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China expects to begin producing its 156-seat C919 by 2016, competing with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. China has staked billions of dollars and national pride on the effort but what may surprise some Americans worried about slipping US competitiveness is that some well-known US companies are aiding China, putting US and European suppliers in a tough spot: Be willing to hand over advanced technology to Chinese firms that could one day be rivals or miss out on what's likely to be the biggest aviation bonanza of the next half a century. 'If they launch a commercial aviation industry, you've got to be part of it,' says Roger Seager, GE Aviation's vice president and general manager for China, whose company has garnered contracts worth about $6 billion for the C919. 'You can't take a pass and come back in 10 years.'"
The firm my mother worked for put itself out of action by selling large hydraulic presses to the Russians to use in factories that were to produce large hydraulic presses...
always knew there would be comebacks for letting the Chinese do your manufacturing for you as they would learn your technology and use it against you
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
I went to a talk back in 1996 by a Professor of Sinology at Cambridge, who was discussing the fact that it was Chinese policy to invite western corporations in with large incentives, then learn their business methods and create government-funded clone companies. The case study that he provided was Cocoa Cola, which was already quite an old example there. He wasn't talking about his latest research, just about a current trend.
Given that this has been pretty widely known by anyone who bothers to look for about 20 years, I am amazed that any company would be stupid enough to move manufacturing to China. I'd expect a shareholder lawsuit for any that tried. Unfortunately, Wall Street has been selecting in favour of CxOs who avoid long-term planning for quite a bit longer than China has been an economic threat.
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From Rolls-Royce's website "Rolls-Royce wins $1.2 billion order from China Eastern Airlines and agrees environmental partnership"
http://www.rolls-royce.com/civil/news/2010/101109_china_easter_order.jsp
A commonly-used short-hand term in the British and Commonwealth military during the WWII period was U/S, short for "unservicable" meaning something wasn't worth repairing and it should be junked or dismantled for spare parts. It had nothing to do with the USA.