The globalisation processes taking place in recent decades imply the functional integration of development, design and manufacturing. In many newly industrialising economies, such as China, one of the industries sought after is the high-technology aircraft industry. China has emerged as an important international supplier of components and parts, mainly due to the drive for market access and lower costs.This study shows that China’s integration into international supplier networks has continued since the middle of the 1990s. China has developed its supplier competence by moving into manufacturing of new parts but also new materials and technologies such as composite. Supply-chains are a main tool of transfer of knowledge and technology. Due to the shift towards more of integrated cooperation in design and manufacturing, the basic production-chain model in the modern aircraft industry differs from traditional basic product chains.

The majority of venomous snakes are found in the world's tropical regions, and the majority of snakebites occur in rural areas of these regions where many people have to cope with snakes literally in their own backyard. Actual statistics are usually unreliable and snakebite statistics are not systematically reported in most countries. Many cases do not find their way into official records, and for many developing countries they may be of local interest only. Southeast Asia harbors one of the richest snake faunas in the world and snake- bites constitute a considerable health problem in many developing countries.

The empirical part of this paper is a case study of snakebite incidence in two communes in the Bac Kan province in northern Vietnam. The investigation indicates a relatively high snakebite incidence, which can partly be explained by a completely rural population working in an environment dominated by agriculture and outdoor activities. Another factor explaining the high incidence is this study's reliance on interviews rather than clinical data, thus incorporating snakebite cases not known to clinics. In Vietnam there are no snakebite data collected, neither on a local nor on any other administrative level, except unpublished data from a few hospitals and institutes.

There are clear indications that the snakebite problem in Vietnam is more serious than in many other Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam has a large rural population, limited medical resources at rural and district clinics and lack of antivenom treatment. Based on this pilot project there are a number of reasons to learn more about humans and snakebites in Vietnam, but also other countries in East and Southeast Asia.

China has moved a long way in economic and industrial development during the last decades and has developed into a global player in many industries. With increased knowledge in high-technology industries, China has ambitions to move into sectors that necessitate a high level of research and development, such as the aerospace industry. China is now in the process of establishing a modern aircraft industry based on domestic efforts as well as agreements with foreign partners in the manufacturing of complete aircraft. This paper analyzes what measures have been taken by Airbus in the form of technology transfer and other supportive measures to strengthen its position in the Chinese market. The findings conclude that Airbus’ transfer should be looked upon as a broad spectrum of technology and knowledge transfer, which include aircraft manufacturing technology, as well as cabin crew training centre, establishment of a warehouse and suppliers ”village”, an engineering centre, maintenance and various service functions.