China will make aircraft manufacturing a cornerstone of its “new strategic industry” plan, an upgrade in status that will lock in long-term government support for the nation’s fledgling rivals to Boeing and Airbus.

　　中國將把飛機制造列為“國家戰(zhàn)略性新興產(chǎn)業(yè)”規(guī)劃的基石，這一地位提升將確保波音(Boeing)和空客(Airbus)在中國國內(nèi)那些羽翼未豐的競爭對手得到長期政府支持。

　　The move is troubling for the world’s two biggest aircraft-makers, which have already been bracing themselves for increased competition from emerging rivals. “The days of the duopoly with Airbus are over,” Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing’s civil aircraft division, said at the Paris Air Show in June.

　　此舉對全球兩大飛機制造商不是好消息，它們本來就已經(jīng)在準備迎接來自新興市場對手的更激烈競爭。“與空客一起形成雙頭壟斷的日子結(jié)束了，”波音民用飛機集團總裁兼首席執(zhí)行官安波杰(Jim Albaugh) 6月份在巴黎航空展(Paris Air Show)上表示。

　　China’s decision to place greater emphasis on aircraft development follows a bullet train crash that killed 40 people last month, undermining public trust in the country’s trains and questioning the government’s rush to build a sprawling, high-speed rail network.

　　中國做出更加重視飛機開發(fā)的決定之前，曾在上月發(fā)生一起動車追尾事故，導(dǎo)致40人遇難，這件事削弱了公眾對中國列車安全的信任，并對中國政府匆忙建設(shè)一個龐大高速鐵路網(wǎng)的做法提出一串問號。

　　Beijing is close to announcing new rules to help domestic aircraft manufacturers so they can provide a big slice of the 4,000 aircraft China is expected to buy over the next 20 years, the Shanghai Securities News, an official newspaper, said on Thursday.

　　官方的《上海證券報》周四表示，北京方面即將宣布扶持國內(nèi)飛機制造商的相關(guān)新法規(guī)，使它們能在未來20年里中國預(yù)期將購買的4000架飛機中占得更大供應(yīng)份額。

　　China said last year it would direct more money and broader policy support at seven “new strategic industries”, many of which have an environmental or high-tech focus, such as alternative-fuel cars and biotechnology.

　　中國去年宣布，將引導(dǎo)更多資金投入七個“國家戰(zhàn)略性新興產(chǎn)業(yè)”，并對其提供更全面的政策支持，這些產(chǎn)業(yè)中有好幾個帶有環(huán)保或高技術(shù)概念，如新能源汽車和生物科技。

　　Aerospace was included in that initial seven-industry plan within the category of “high-end equipment manufacturing”. High-speed rail was also in that category. However, the Shanghai Securities News said aircraft would be “the most important part” of high-end equipment manufacturing and made no mention of high-speed rail.

　　在針對七個產(chǎn)業(yè)的最初規(guī)劃中，航空航天被劃在“高端裝備制造”的類別內(nèi)。高鐵也被劃歸于那個類別。不過，《上海證券報》的報道稱，飛機將是高端裝備制造的“重要板塊”；該文沒有提及高鐵。

　　Chinese aircraft manufacturers have already received ample state funding and, despite all the safety concerns following the accident, government investment in rail is likely to remain strong as well.

　　中國飛機制造商已經(jīng)得到充足的政府資金，同時，盡管動車事故后各方存在種種安全擔憂，但政府對鐵路的投資很可能也將保持強勁。

　　However, the balance might now begin to shift towards the aviation industry. In the wake of July’s rail disaster, passengers have reported that first-class carriages on the new bullet train line between Beijing and Shanghai have been nearly empty, while airline tickets between the two cities have been in high demand from travellers.

　　不過，政府的重點現(xiàn)在也許會開始向飛機產(chǎn)業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)移。在7月份發(fā)生動車追尾災(zāi)難后，乘客們反映，京滬高鐵的一等艙車廂幾乎空無一人，而京滬航線的機票相當搶手。

　　China’s aircraft ambitions could use an extra boost, having come up short so far. Its first passenger aircraft, the Comac ARJ21 regional jet, completed its maiden flight in 2008, three years behind schedule. Deliveries to customers were further delayed last year when the aircraft’s wing broke during ground-based testing.

　　中國在飛機制造方面迄今成就不大，因而確實需要額外提振。中國首架民用客機——中國商用飛機公司(Comac)研制的ARJ21支線飛機在2008年完成首飛，比原計劃晚了三年。向客戶的交貨在去年進一步推遲，原因是該型飛機在地面測試期間發(fā)生機翼斷裂。

　　The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac), the government-owned company driving China’s aircraft development, is also taking a more direct shot at breaking the Airbus-Boeing duopoly with its C919 narrow-body plane. Still in development, the first deliveries of the C919, which will compete against the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737, are scheduled for 2016.

　　國有的中國商用飛機公司負責推動中國的飛機研發(fā)，該公司還借助其C919窄體客機，試圖以更直接的方式打破空客-波音的雙頭壟斷。將與空客320和波音737展開直接競爭的C919型飛機，目前仍在研發(fā)中，按計劃將于2016年開始交付客戶。

　　The European and US aerospace and defence companies have dominated the lucrative market for narrow-body aircraft over the past 20 years, but are now facing challenges not only from Chinese manufacturers but also from Bombardier of Canada.

　　過去20年里，歐美的航空航天及防務(wù)公司壟斷了利潤豐厚的窄體客機市場，但現(xiàn)在不僅面臨中國制造商的挑戰(zhàn)，還面臨加拿大龐巴迪(Bombardier)的挑戰(zhàn)。

　　Bradley Perrett, a Chinese aerospace expert at Aviation Week, said that the C919 contained advanced technology, much of it foreign made, but that performance was “not likely to be optimal” because of Comac’s inexperience as a manufacturer. Most analysts expect state backing to drive good sales in China but predict that foreign carriers will be more reluctant to use the model.

　　《航空周刊》(Aviation Week)的中國航空航天業(yè)專家白廣原(Bradley Perrett)表示，C919型飛機含有先進技術(shù)，其中不少產(chǎn)自國外，但由于中國商用飛機公司作為一家制造商還缺乏經(jīng)驗，因此該機的性能“不太可能達到最優(yōu)”。多數(shù)分析師預(yù)期，政府支持將推動其在中國國內(nèi)市場取得較好的銷售業(yè)績，但海外航空公司將不太愿意采用該機型。

　　“If it is priced cheaply, and this is where subsidies come into question, it could find a market outside China,” said Perrett.

　　“如果它的定價相當?shù)?mdash;—而這將涉及補貼的問題，那么它可能在海外找到市場，”白廣原表示。

　　Boeing has estimated that demand for commercial aircraft from China alone could be worth $480bn over the next two decades.

　　北京方面估計，未來20年期間，單是中國對商用飛機的需求就可能達到4800億美元。