Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Helicopter Makers

New calls are being made to try to groom more domestic helicopter producers.

This follows a major helicopter expo this past week in Tianjin.

CRI's Qi Zhi reports.

Many taking part in the now-concluded China International Helicopters Expo in Tianjin say they're excited about the possibilities in the helicopter market here in China.

Among them is Larry Roberts with US-based Bell Helicopter Textron.

"So if you look at the ratio, the possibility in China is tremendous. When it comes to provide service, provide air medical transport, provide fire prediction, provide security and aid relief in a major earthquake, helicopters can provide tremendous services in China and I'm sure this future is not far away."

In China, Airbus Helicopters currently dominate, holding around 40-percent of the market share.

It's orders this year have doubled compared to last year.

Airbus is hoping to up its market share to 60-percent in the next 5-years.

Norbert Ducrot, President of Airbus Helicopters China, says they're also looking beyond just sales.

"Helicopter market in China is very competitive. You know the market is very open. Today, we need to develop our network of assembly center and training center to make sure that we can train properly all the pilots for the safety of the flights. We need to provide not only the helicopters for the customer, but also become a service provider to make sure the helicopter operator can operate and do business with its helicopter."

The dominance of foreign helicopter producers in China is creating new calls for better domestic production.

Yu Feng with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China says China's domestic helicopter industry needs to step up.

"As the government gradually opens the low-altitude airspace, the civil helicopter market is going to grow. But are we ready for that? It's a challenge for us. China's helicopter industry needs to be more competitive in the years to come."

Xi Jiasheng, researcher with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, says the development of the local helicopter market will require outside help for now.

"We have to step up our game. But we're going to require outside help to start with. Our new AC352 model is the result of joint-cooperation with France. We need to learn both design and management experience from foreign producers."

There are currently only around 700 non-military helicopters operational on the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.

This is just 1.5 percent of the world's total.

Source:  http://english.cri.cn