The country's leading aircraft maker, which announced in February that it would look overseas for executives capable of propelling it forward in the international arena, has unveiled its first six new hires.

In the end, all six, who received their three-year appointment certificates yesterday, were Chinese, but the fact that the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) looked for talent worldwide was precedent-setting.

"We received about 20 applications from overseas. Around 10 of them made it to the interview stage, along with 57 Chinese candidates," said Liu Jinghong, president of AVIC's human resources division, during yesterday's appointment ceremony.