Aviation Industry Corporation of China  The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) is a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate. It is ranked 151st in the Fortune Global 500 list as of 2019, and has over 100 subsidiaries, 27 listed companies and 500,000 employees across the globe. Since being established on 1 April 1951 during the Korean War as the Aviation Industry Administration Commission, the aviation industry of the People's Republic of China has been through 12 systemic reforms. AVIC purchased American aircraft engine manufacturer Continental Motors, Inc. in 2010, aircraft manufacturer Cirrus in 2011, and specialized parts supplier Align Aerospace in 2015. China Aviation Industry Corporation was split into two separate entities, China Aviation Industry Corporation I and China Aviation Industry Corporation II in 1999. Both retained civilian and military aircraft production capabilities, along with a number of unrelated business ventures. The split was intended to foster competitiveness in the aerospace industry in China. In 2008, AVIC I and AVIC II officially merged back together; the previous separation resulted in split resources and led to redundant projects. The goal of the merger was to eliminate this redundancy and spin off pursuits unrelated to aerospace, such as motorcycle and automobile parts manufacturing. During the Airshow China 2008, AVIC appeared to the public for the first time. In 2015, AVIC teamed up with its partner, BHR Partners, in acquiring U.S. automotive supplier Henniges, through a joint venture structure. Henniges called the deal "one of the largest acquisitions by a Chinese company of a U.S.-based automotive manufacturing company in history." In April 2009, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that computer spies, allegedly Chinese, had penetrated the database of the Joint Strike Fighter program and acquired terabytes of secret information about the fighter, possibly compromising its future effectiveness. AVIC allegedly incorporated the stolen know-how into China's Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang FC-31 fighters.