GE and China's AVIC to form avionics joint venture

BEIJING, Nov 15 (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) and Aviation Industry Corp, a Chinese state-owned aircraft maker, have agreed to form a joint venture to develop and market avionics systems for commercial aircraft, the companies said on Sunday.

The partners aim to set up the venture by mid-2010, subject to regulatory approval, they said in a statement.

Part of the JV, which will have its headquarters in China, will involve the creation of a technology centre in Shanghai, where GE already carries out research and development.

GE said the initial focus of the JV would be to develop equipment for China's planned COMAC C919 passenger jet, which will have at least 150 seats.

Government-backed Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has said it expects the C919 to have its test flight in 2014 with deliveries to customers starting in 2016.

As well as targeting the domestic market, the GE-AVIC venture said it would aim to sell into the global market, including the United States, where it will create 200 jobs. (Reporting by Michael Wei and Alan Wheatley)