I can see, and feel from a nationalistic point of view, how moving such a great American company like Boeing to China, would be distastful to so many. I think what would be more realistic is what Airbus is doing now, and MD did years ago with the MD80. Give the Chinese the tooling to make a variant of the 73 for instance. Then at future dates give them the ability after proving themselves on the 73, other aircraft to build. Airbus has built it's first Chinese built A320 in country. It is currently flying for the domestic airline that I fly for here in Chengdu.
I am sure that CEO Jim McNerney is looking at this from a business standpoint, as something good for Boeing, and, it's shareholders. Airbus see's the opportunity as does Boeing, about the potential number of aircraft orders and sales in a country like China. It's huge. Something you have to grasp is the number of people in this country and the growth potential of the airline business as more and more Chinese, everyday, become capable of purchasing an airline ticket as there disposable income rises. The size of China is roughly the same as the U.S. with 6 times as many people and only a commercial aircraft fleet of say, a Continental Airlines, to fly all those people around. Think about that. The growth that is coming on here in China is probably what it was like in the late '40's through the '80's in the U.S. This growth, or, maturity, will probably occur in half of that time frame it did in the U.S. here in China. Boeing wants and needs to be a part of that growth. It can't be ignored.