By Yang Jian | 2012-4-10 | 
ONLINE EDITION
MONTREAL-BASED Bombardier Aerospace said its new partnership with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China to provide parts for the development of China's first domestically manufactured jumbo jets will be cooperative, not competitive.
Guy Hachey, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier, the world's largest maker of business jets, said in Shanghai today that the market in China is big enough for both countries to tap.
The two companies signed an agreement late last month for Bombardier to collaborate with Comac on cockpit-crew interface, electrical systems, material purchasing and customer services in the development of China's C919 jumbo jet.
Bombadier's Cseries of jets, still under development, have similar characteristics with the C919, which is expected to make its maiden flight in 2014.
China's domestically manufactured ARJ21 regional jets will compete with Bombardier's CRJseries jets, which have already been sold to Chinese airlines. China is still in the testing phase for the ARJ21s.
"The demand for regional jets in China is big enough for more than one competitor," Hachey said at opening ceremonies for the company's new office in Shanghai.
Hachey said he expects demand for aircraft with seating capacity of between 60 and 149 to grow to about 2,400 in the next 20 years, making China the world's second-largest market following the United States.
The 90-seat ARJ21 regional jet is undergoing final tests for flight certification after being approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country's civil aviation regulator.
Comac, a major company in its field in China, said it has received more than 200 orders for the ARJ21, mainly from Chinese state-controlled companies.
Meanwhile, the Canadian company has more than 30 regional jets operating on routes on the mainland and to Hong Kong and Macau. Its customers include China Eastern Airlines, China Express Air, Shandong Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.
Bombardier's planned CSeries aircraft will have the same cockpit as the C919, helping the Chinese plane maker pare research costs in a bid to challenge the domination of Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS in jet sales.
"We will find more areas to collaborate, but first we will focus on the four areas in the agreement in the next year," Hachey said.