China-Europe aviation cooperation gets wings

LONDON — The fastgrowing market demand for civil aircraft and the rapid development of the aviation industry offer unprecedented opportunities for cooperation between China and Europe, which has seen remarkable progress in recent years.

At the ongoing Farnborough International Airshow near London, Aviation Industry Corp of China announced the establishment of AVIC Cabin Systems Co Ltd (ACS).

The operational headquarters of ACS, with its products covering most segments of the cabin interior industry with high-profile customers such as Boeing and Airbus, is based in London.

“The fact that the company’s operational headquarters is based in London demonstrates AVIC’s confidence about the business environment in the UK and Europe, and it is another important step in AVIC’s globalization,” Chairman of AVIC Tan Ruisong said at the launching ceremony.

Statistics show that the global cabin interior market in 2017 was worth $12.6 billion and is anticipated to grow to $14.4 billion in 2020 and $18.4 billion in 2025, at an annual rate of nearly 5 percent.

Gary Montgomery, CEO of Thompson Aero Seating, a major ACS supplier of firstclass and business class seats based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said the establishment of ACS will help create synergy across cabin companies and provide better products and services to global customers, noting that he is optimistic about the prospects for ACS.

Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the UK, who also attended the ceremony, said it is exciting to witness “China-UK cooperation on aviation moving up to a new level”.

The event has a significant impact on the aviation sector in both China and the UK, and global aviation development, he said.

As early as 1997, the Aviation Working Group was set up under the China-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission in a move to enhance cooperation on aviation technology and engineering.