AVIC-made JL-8 jets fly over Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 2019.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
China's Boeing Wannabe Could Land in U.S. Government Crosshairs
- Trump’s Pentagon says AVIC group is an arm of China’s military
- AVIC operates network of aircraft affiliates throughout U.S.
China put on a spectacular military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule last year, and President Xi Jinping wasn’t the only star of that show.
As Xi and other leaders watched from a Tiananmen Square grandstand, a squadron of fighter jets, attack helicopters, troop transports and surveillance planes roared overhead in a display orchestrated to impress TV viewers at home and warn potential aggressors abroad. The company that made those aircraft: Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC), a state-owned conglomerate with 100-plus subsidiaries and 450,000-plus employees — more than Boeing Co. and Airbus SE combined.