Air China plans to set up a subsidiary airline at Dalian to exploit the economic development of northeastern China. If the plan goes ahead, Dalian Airlines will fly local, provincial and national routes, and also serve major cities in Japan and South Korea, says an industry official familiar with a framework agreement that Air China and the city have signed.

BEIJING — Japan is preparing the policy ground for joint international development of combat aircraft, warships and electronic systems, with the creation of a government-industry group to study the issue. As the country inches toward a historic change of defense industrial policy, the group will look at how Japan’s almost blanket ban on arms exports could be revisited to help preserve its industrial base.

BEIJING—The Comac C919 may present unusually difficult problems in base maintenance costs for some years after it enters service, since early production is likely to be slow and the operating fleet likely will be shared between three Chinese heavy maintenance shops.