Air China is no longer interested in buying China Eastern or any other airline, at least for the moment. Chairman Kong Dong says Air China doesn’t have the size, management skill or general staff quality to execute a merger. “We will do acquisitions only when we grow bigger,” he says. Kong, whose predecessor, Li Jiaxiang, is now the national civil aviation minister, says his priority is to improve Air China’s management.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aims to become a master player in the production of commercial aircraft wings while separately seeking to be an integrator of its own complete aircraft. For decades, the company has built almost all types of major civil airframe assemblies, but it has now settled on just one as its key specialty, perhaps the most difficult: the wing.

China is looking at merging China Eastern Airlines with smaller hometown rival Shanghai Airlines, rescuing the ailing big-three carrier at the cost of reducing competition at the country’s largest city. The proposed merger means that the Chinese government has almost certainly decided against consolidation of the three main state airlines. China Eastern would be recapitalized before merging with Shanghai Airlines, says China Eastern general manager, Cao Jianxiong, who adds it might restart negotiations with Singapore Airlines.