The China Aviation Industry Corp. I (AVIC I) said that it has inked a deal with General Electric (GE) to co-produce engines for the country's first homegrown commercial aircraft.

With GE's technology support, the AVIC I, China's leading aircraft maker, will produce the CF34-10A engine for its ARJ21-700 aircraft with the help of a subsidiary in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.

This is the first Sino-foreign cooperative program to produce passenger aircraft engines, said a statement from AVIC I.

The cooperation came four years after the AVIC I decided to import the GE-developed engine to power its ARJ21-700, a regional passenger jet that has 70 to 90 seats.

Both the ARJ21-700 and its longer version the ARJ21-900 are expected to make maiden flights in March 2008, with mass production to begin in 2009.

The AVIC I had received 71 orders for the ARJ21 series by January of this year. Orders came from domestic airline companies such as Shanghai Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Sales of these aircraft are predicted to reach 50 units annually on the domestic and global markets in the next few years, according to AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd.

(Xinhua News Agency September 10 2007)