BEIJING — After a highly publicized global search for foreign managers to help it modernize, China’s main military jet maker has hired six executives — all of them Chinese, a company spokesman said Thursday.
Aviation Industry Corp. of China announced in February it wanted “new blood” from overseas to help it compete in commercial aviation. The move was unprecedented for a Chinese military contractor and reflected Beijing’s ambitions in civilian aerospace.
AVIC received nearly 1,000 applications from 20 countries and 10 foreign nationals were among 67 people in the final round of interviews, said AVIC spokesman Ding Zhiyong. Ding said he did not know why only Chinese nationals were hired.
“Maybe there was a mismatch between the recruits and the posts,” he said. “We are still in contact with some candidates for experts’ posts. Some of them might not fit into management posts, but they are very skillful.”
Government-owned AVIC is trying to develop aircraft including a 150-seat jetliner to compete with Boeing Co. and Europe’s Airbus.
The new managers, who include a former Chinese deputy mayor, will be vice presidents of AVIC’s defense, aircraft, helicopter, investment and international divisions, Ding said. He said several have doctorates or master’s degrees from foreign universities.
The Beijing-based company said in February it wanted to hire 13 vice presidents to help improve production, marketing and management in divisions including defense, a job it said might be open to a non-Chinese citizen.
AVIC said it would be the first time a Chinese military enterprise “lifted its veil of secrecy” by bringing in foreign executives.
A growing number of Chinese companies including personal computer manufacturer Lenovo Group and automaker SAIC Motor Corp. have hired foreign executives to fill gaps in skills as they try to expand into global markets.
The communist government created AVIC in November by merging its two biggest military aircraft companies. It hopes to speed up weapons development and help to nurture a Chinese commercial aerospace industry.
Beijing has spent heavily on weapons development and has bought Russian technology, including the right to manufacture a version of the supersonic Su-27 fighter. But analysts say China still lags Western countries in many areas.
An AVIC subsidiary got a $26 billion credit line from state banks in January to finance development of a jetliner.
China’s aviation market is one of the biggest and fastest-growing but has relied until now on Boeing and Airbus to supply jetliners. Boeing has forecast Chinese carriers will need 3,400 new aircraft over the next two decades.
Another subsidiary is trying to develop a mid-range jet to compete with Canada’s Bombardier Inc. and Brazil’s Embraer SA. A third subsidiary is building China’s first helicopter factory and says it should produce its first aircraft this year.
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