(Yicai) April 3 -- General Electric Aerospace will not change its investment strategy in China after its spin-off listing on the New York Stock Exchange, according to the global vice president and China president of the US aircraft engine manufacturer.

GE Aerospace will continue to increase investment in China to enhance its capability to serve Chinese airlines, focusing on the production of engines for China's C919 self-developed large aircraft project and related refining repair services network, Xiang Weiming told Yicai yesterday, the day the company completed its spin-off listing.

GE Aerospace’s spin-off was the final stage of US conglomerate GE’s split into three independent businesses: GE Aerospace, GE Vernova, and GE HealthCare. Shares of GE Aerospace [NYSE: GE] closed down over 22 percent at USD136.47 yesterday. GE Aerospace retained GE's sticker symbol on the exchange.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China delivered five C919 jets last year and will deliver more this year, Xiang noted, adding that GE Aerospace will be able to fulfill COMAC's engine needs this and next year.

The C919 uses GE Aerospace's LEAP-1C engine. The ARJ21, a regional jet also developed by COMAC, uses another engine still made by GE Aerospace.

This year, GE Aerospace invested USD5.2 million in an engine parts plant in Suzhou, China's eastern Jiangsu province, to increase its production capacity of LEAP engines and kick off production of GE9X engines, Xiang said.

GE Aerospace will further expand its China maintenance, repair, and overhaul network to enhance local firms' ability to repair LEAP engines while expanding its on-scene engine support business in the country, Xiang explained.

Besides eight engine overhaul plants and one engine quick repair plant, GE Aerospace also has air fleet support centers for remote engine monitoring and manufacturing plants and warehouse centers for engine parts that can provide services to over 7,700 GE Aerospace engines in service in China, Xiang pointed out.

GE Aerospace's engine on-site support services quick repair plant kicked off operations in the Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone last July, becoming the first professional engine quick repair plant in China's civil aviation industry. The plant has already completed the quick repair of 13 engines.

This engine on-site support services quick repair plant will also become a spare engine warehouse for the LEAP-1C engines, able to provide robust on-scene support services to the ARJ21 and C919 projects in the shortest possible time, Xiang said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione