For Western aviation equipment manufacturers, setting up joint companies with Avic usually offers lower costs and a boost to sales, thanks to access to the controlled Chinese market. For the Chinese side, partnership has a more fundamental value: It provides access to a business that would otherwise not be accessible at all. But in the latest Sino-Western partnership, aimed at developing and building commercial flight simulators, both sides need each other to make any headway.

China Eastern Airlines and Qantas are selling a one-third stake in Jetstar Hong Kong to a local company to reinforce their application for an air operator’s certificate for the proposed budget carrier. Conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings says it will pay $66 million for the share in Jetstar Hong Kong. The investment means that the airline will have partial Hong Kong ownership, although it will still fall short of the usual requirement in the global industry that local investors hold 51%.

Avic and Rockwell Collins will develop, build and market civil full-flight simulators in a joint company that they hope to set up by the end of this year. The agreement offers a joint path to success in a market that presents great challenges to both companies.