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.