"AVIC I is the biggest aviation manufacturer in China. Our goal is to reach the level of big international aviation companies in the next 20 to 30 years," said Tang Xiaoping, assistant president of the Beijing-based company.

He was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Aviation Expo/China 2005 - the 11th air expo held in the Chinese capital.

The state-owned corporation, which mainly manufactures military aircraft and weapon systems, plans to put more focus on developing airplanes for civilian use to capitalise on the boom in air travel in China.

"One of our goals for the next 20 to 30 years is we would like to have sales of civilian aviation products equal to that of our other aviation product sales ... and we would like our domestic and international markets to be equal," Tang said.

The company expects passenger travel in China will increase 8.4 percent annually, with cargo rising 11 percent, over the next two decades.

The market will be driven by continued rapid growth in the Chinese economy, as well as increasing tourism and trade, and airport construction, it said.

Chinese airplane manufacturers such as AVIC I are eager to win back their own home market from foreign aviation giants such as Boeing, which holds 63 percent, and Airbus, which has 28 percent.

Sales of AVIC's few civilian aircraft now account for just 10 percent of the company's total revenue, said Liao Quanwang, vice president of AVIC's development and research center.

Revenues reached 57 billion yuan (7.0 billion dollars) last year.

"We hope to at least double this figure in 20 years," Tang said.

Tang also told reporters AVIC I was on schedule in developing what will be the first Chinese-made version of an advanced regional jet, a 70-90 seat aircraft.

"We've entered the manufacturing stage," said Tang.

The first test flight of the ARJ21 plane, a short- to medium-range jet, will be in 2007, he said.

Company officials said they were confident it could win a big share of the Chinese domestic market for regional aircraft.

"At the very beginning of this project, people asked me that question. I said then 'If we cannot get 50 percent of the market, we won't start this project,'" Tang said.

"Today I still believe we can achieve this goal within the next 20 years."

He declined to reveal details on whether the company was planning to build a bigger airplanes but said it was in the "research" stage.

Given the huge need for aircraft in China, it was a natural progression for Chinese firms to want to seize the opportunity and they will likely succeed in becoming market leaders, said Michel Dion, business development director for Air France Industries, which provides aircraft maintenance services.

"Why not? ... There's no way to fail because they have to succeed," Dion said.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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