China's aviation industries have begun construction of a high-tech industrial park featuring space and aviation technology in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province.  

The industrial park and the surrounding area would be a major research and development center and production base of military and civil aircraft, said Hu Wenming, vice president of China's Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), a founder of the park.

Managed by a joint venture company with a registered capital of 230 million yuan (30 million U.S. dollars), the park is expected to attract big state-owned enterprises and private companies in the aviation sector.

"The building of the park is a milestone in China's aviation industry, showing it has moved forward from technological research to industrial production," said Lin Zuoming, president of AVIC I.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2007)