Philippe Camus: “The Chinese aerospace industry is and will be the permanent partner of EADS”
Zhuhai, 02 November 2004
EADS, a global leader in aerospace and defence, has entered on a significant new phase in its development on the Chinese market. Strengthened by its many success stories in 2004, EADS is intensifying its industrial cooperation to become a favoured partner of China.
On visit to China to attend the China Aerospace show in Zhuhai, Philippe Camus, CEO of EADS, stated: “The recent successes of EADS illustrate the soundness of our strategy of cooperating with China. Last year we clearly stated our desire to expand our industrial partnerships. Today, we propose to the Chinese aerospace industry to become the permanent partner of EADS. Thus, all the future Airbus aircraft programmes will be developed in partnership, like the new helicopter programmes that will systematically include Chinese components. This is a new milestone of our involvement with this country, which has a rapid development rate and an ambitious aerospace industry. We have full confidence in China, as they can be fully confident with us ”.
In the field of commercial aviation, Airbus has received 55 new orders since the beginning of 2004: first, twenty-one A320 were ordered in January by China Southern, making it one of the biggest clients for the A320 in the Asia-Pacific region; then, twenty A330-300 were ordered by China Eastern and six A319 by Air China in October and a contract for eight A320 with Hainan Airlines has just come into effect.
Eurocopter also signed a framework contract with AVIC II in October for the joint development and production of a new multipurpose helicopter that will be available on the world market in 2010. Another contract was signed in Paris last June to set up in Harbin a production line for the EC 120 helicopter.
Reinforced transfers of skills
Philippe Camus went on to say: “The close links which we have reinforced over the last two years are destined to be long-term ones. We are now entering on a new phase in strengthening our relations, notably as regards the transfer of skills between the European and Chinese teams and covering the entire spectrum, from the scientific aspects to the working and production methods. In this way we are creating the indispensable conditions for other large-scale successes that our subsidiaries can look forward to in the future”.
Several initiatives back up this commitment: EADS will send in mid-November a study mission consisting of top managers to various regions of China. At the same time, EADS will receive in the coming months a group of Chinese officials from the Institute of Diplomacy. Moreover, EADS plans to make a contribution to bringing together and encouraging mobility between European and Chinese scientists with sound potential, notably via the new EADS Foundation for Research.
EADS has already entered on a new phase in developing industrial and strategic partnerships with China based on co-development, co-production and co-exportation joint ventures. The $30 million investment made by EADS in the aeronautical manufacturer Avichina in October 2003 (giving it a 5% stake) opened the way for reinforced cooperation with AVIC II in the helicopter field.
New projects
Airbus will also reinforce its cooperation with China by raising its commitment on subcontracting from $30 million per year to $60 million by 2007. The objective is to raise this to $120 million per year by 2010.
The project to set up an engineering centre should also create closer links between the EADS European industrial teams and their Chinese counterparts.
In the field of security systems, EADS DCS has teamed up with Chinese and European partners to provide integrated solutions in the framework of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In this context, the China Police Exhibition organised by the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing in June 2004 demonstrated the group’s systems integration capacity via the development of balanced partnerships. This integration of our systems/ plate-forms/ equipment capacity was especially appreciated because it meets the new security challenges that have emerged. Backed up by this success, EADS plans to set up in Beijing a simulation centre dedicated to the security arrangements for major events.
EADS: an historic cooperation with China
The first successes of Eurocopter in China go back to the 1960s, when it supplied light helicopters: Alouette, Gazelle, etc. This relationship developed in the 1970s with the sale of medium and heavy helicopters: Super Frelon, etc. and then with the license for the Dauphin. At the same time, cooperation programmes were developed for a number of Chinese helicopters: the Z9, Z8, Z11 and Z10. In the 1990s, Eurocopter strengthened its industrial cooperation for the joint development with AVIC II and Singapore Tech of the light single-engine EC 120 helicopter. Assembled in the Harbin Aircraft Industry factory, this helicopter has had a very successful career to date, with over 400 sold around the world. Eurocopter also set up a joint subsidiary with Citic Off-Shore Helicopter Company (COHC), for the maintenance of helicopters of all types (Eurocopter’s stake is 10%).
The industrial cooperation between Airbus and the Chinese aeronautical industry goes back to 1985, when it sold its first three aircraft. Since then, its market share has continued to grow, particularly since 1995. Airbus airplanes are now in service with 9 airlines in China, Hong Kong and Macao. The fleet has grown from 28 Airbus in 1995 (7% of the current fleet) to 176 aircraft today (a 31% market share of the 3 principal airlines), 250 when the Hong Kong and Macao fleets are counted in. The main players in China’s aerospace industry are now among the worldwide partners of Airbus: Xian Aircraft Company, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Guizhou Aviation Industrial Group, Chengdu Aerospace Company, AVIC and CASC. Airbus also invested $80 million in setting up a cutting-edge technical assistance and training centre in Beijing which has no equivalent in China. Established as part of a joint venture with China Aviation Supplies Imports and Exports Group Corporation (CASGC), it has trained over 9,000 trainee pilots, engineers and technicians for Chinese airlines and other airlines in the region over the last 6 years.
EADS also has a foothold in other sectors: In space, EADS Astrium and CASC signed an agreement in 1994 to set up a joint venture, Euraspace. A contract for the first radio broadcasting satellite Sinosat 1 was then signed in 1995. A terrestrial station located close to Beijing, Spot Image, has been supplying China with geographic data beamed down by satellite since 1986. The Myun station was the first to use the images from the SPOT 5 satellite in September 2002, with the help of EADS data processing equipment. Furthermore, the European programme for radio navigation by satellite provided the opportunity to envisage new forms of cooperation with potential partners in China, following the agreement signed between Galileo and the NRSCC (National Remote Sensing Chinese Center).
In the area of regional aircraft, ATR has been cooperating since 1985 with the aircraft manufacturer Xian for the production of sub-assemblies for the ATR.
Finally, EADS Socata has supplied over 70 training aircraft to the Civilian Aviation Flying College in Chengdu, enabling it to provide initial training each year for several hundred pilots going on to fly for all the Chinese airlines.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services, EADS recorded sales amounting to €30.1 billion in 2003 and employs over 109,000 people around the world. The EADS group consists of the Airbus aircraft manufacturer, the world’s largest helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter, and the joint-venture MBDA, the world’s second-largest missile manufacturer. EADS is also the major partner of the Eurofighter consortium, the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, the architect of the A400M military transport aircraft and the biggest industrial partner for Galileo, the European satellite navigation system.
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