UK Trade & Investment is hoping to secure a strong British presence in China’s budding aerospace industry after meeting with key industry figures from the Asian country last week.
A delegation of senior officials from the Chinese Aviation Industry Base, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China has been visiting UK aerospace plants including Bombardier, GKN and GE Aviation as well as holding talks with UKTI officials about how Britain can share its growing expertise in fuel-efficient and green composites for the sector.
China is expected to need up to 2,800 new passenger aircraft and freighters by 2026 and this is “an opportunity that cannot be ignored,” according to UK Trade & Investment chief Sir Andrew Cahn.
“China is set to become one of the major engineering powers of the 21st century,” he said. “The delegation here wants to know about the strengths and technological know-how that have made the British aerospace sector so successful.
“The aerospace sector in China is being built virtually from scratch. There are excellent prospects at virtually every point of the supply chain. We want to work together to help British companies make the most of it.”
