General Electric (GE) has signed a joint venture agreement with Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) to produce avionics systems, the Wall Street Journal reported. GE did not disclose any financial details, but said its investment in the venture – which will manufacture systems to help pilots navigate and operate aircraft – was “substantial.” Lorraine Bolsinger, head of GE Aviation Systems, said that the company’s primary objective is to supply technology to the C919, a large passenger jet being developed by an AVIC subsidiary. Beijing wants the jet, which is intended to launch by 2016, to compete with Boeing and Airbus models. Bolsinger said she expects Chinese manufacturers to take a “fair share” of the global market for narrow-body jetliners in the next few decades. Separately, Rolls-Royce announced that it had won a US$1.5 billion order from Air China to supply engines for 20 aircraft, to be delivered from 2011.
