Parker Hannifin, a fuel system supplier for China's first regional jet, said yesterday that it is in talks with Chinese authorities about joining the country's first homemade jumbo jet project.

"We are still in negotiations with the jet maker, and our company is in a good position after excellent cooperation on the regional jet project," said Steven Ong, managing director of Parker Hannifin Management (Shanghai) Co. He said the timetable to select suppliers is up to the government and declined to give details as negotiations are still at an early stage.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, the producer of the 150-seat ARJ21 plane, said it will select system suppliers by the end of this year.

China will invest 200 billion yuan (US$29 billion) to develop the jet. Everything from design to sourcing and production will be done in China as the country plans to reduce its reliance on overseas plane makers such as Boeing and Airbus.

The ARJ21's initial design has been completed. The aircraft is scheduled to make its first flight in 2014 and planes are to be delivered to customers by 2016.

"Besides aerospace projects, we are also interested in other projects such as steel mills, wind power, high-speed railways and ship building," Ong said.

Parker Hannifin, a manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, has been selected as a supplier for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and has signed a deal worth 100 million yuan.

Parker Hannifin has set up 11 factories in China since entering the country in 1982 and its annual revenue here has exceeded US$500 million. About 70 percent of its Chinese-made products are sold locally and 30 percent are exported.

(Shanghai Daily September 18, 2009)