The Embraer/Avic joint company in Harbin, China, has begun assembling its first Legacy 650 business jet, on schedule for delivery late this year. Workers who will assemble Legacy 650s at Harbin are the same as those who formerly assembled ERJ-145 regional jetliners at the plant, says Guan Dongyuan, president of Embraer’s Chinese operation. The Legacy 650 is based on the ERJ-135, a shortened ERJ-145. Guan says that the program is on track. Capacity will be 20 a year, with a plan to ramp up to six aircraft delivered in 2015.

At least two sites for a potential business aviation airport for Beijing are being explored by China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., according to its aviation consultant, London-based lawyer David Tang. The development, when and if it happens, should allow business aviation slots to be switched to airlines at the city’s main airport, Beijing Capital International.

Beechcraft is finding growing interest in its turboprop aircraft from private customers in China, increasing its reach in the market that had once been primarily limited to aviation schools and government uses. Beechcraft took its first order from a Chinese private buyer in 2011, says Ted Farid, vice president for sales in the Asia-Pacific region. The total is now eight, among 22 Beechcraft aircraft operating in China and 10 on order, Farid said in an interview ahead of the opening of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition.