Shenzhen-based ZTE Equipment Co will set up an aviation technology company in Taicang, a county-level city in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, local media reported on Aug 13.

With a total investment of 1 billion yuan ($154 million), the Taicang company is expected to function as a research and development center for passenger aircraft electronic equipment.

The investor and the Taicang government will also establish an aviation research institute to offer tech support.

Local authorities said the cooperation will help accelerate the independent production of civil aviation electronic equipment in Taicang.

With the Suzhou government and plane maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China teaming up in February, the Taicang government expects its aviation industry to achieve a total industrial output of 50 billion yuan by 2025, up from 10 billion yuan in 2020.

From January to July, the city has signed 31 aviation project contracts worth 9.18 billion yuan. The city currently houses over 200,000 square meters of aviation industry incubators and is planning for a 300,000-square-meter industrial park.

The signing ceremony of the strategic cooperation agreement between the Suzhou municipal government and COMAC. [Photo/Wechat account: tcfbgw]