A question I’ve been hearing lately is whether China will scoop up the assets of Hawker Beechcraft, which has filed for bankruptcy and is known to be for sale. Already, several potential bidders have come forward with hopes of buying the entire company or select pieces.
I would bet China has at least joined the discussions about purchasing Hawker Beechcraft, and in particular its business jet line, which would be one more piece of a puzzle that’s forming a clearer picture of the country’s far-reaching aviation aspirations.
China has fast become a top player in global aerospace by buying manufacturing and design companies and striking deals with established manufacturers to bring aircraft production into the country. If you’re wondering why, all you have to do is open a history book.
Centuries ago, China became a major economic and political power when it established the silk roads connecting it with Persia and Arabia, the centers of world trade and commerce at that time. Then Christopher Columbus discovered the New World and the center shifted west to Europe, which was strategically located smack in the middle of newly discovered America and trading centers in the East.
With the more recent inventions of the telephone, airplane and Internet, the world’s economy has become truly global – it matters far less where you live today than it did when trade was conducted primarily by donkey, camel and horse.
Aviation – and more and more, business aviation – can provide China with a vital link to the rest of the global economy. When China finally fully embraces the idea of business aviation – and there are many indications that’s happening already – the country will have created a modern Silk Route, allowing it to compete on an equal footing with any world power.
So will the Chinese buy Hawker Beechcraft’s business jet line? I don’t know. But I’m sure they’re thinking about it.
