Avic plane sale to US a first for mainland China
Chinese aerospace giant Avic is to sell a transport aircraft to a United States buyer
A mainland-made utility plane is to be sold to the United States for the first time, aerospace manufacturing giant Aviation Industry Corp of China (Avic) said before the 10th Zhuhai Airshow, which opens today.
"We are selling a model to the US and it is a breakthrough as it is the first time for Chinese-made civil aircraft to enter an advanced country," Avic president Lin Zuoming said.
He would not name the model but Avic sources said the latest export would be the Y-12F, a 19-seat turboprop transport aircraft made by Hafei Aviation, a core unit of Avic.
That adds to the list of homegrown aircraft the mainland is trying to turn into commercial successes in overseas markets, which have previously been limited to the developing world. Avic's Modern Ark 60, a 60-seat turboprop, has been exported to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia since 2004.
Xu Zhanbin, a deputy manager of Avic, said: "The Y-12F is ready for the international market."
He added that another Avic general aviation product - the AG300 - would make its debut at the Airshow. The AG300, a five-seat turboprop, is the mainland's first independently designed business aircraft.
