Douglas Aircraft's bonds with the Chinese hit a patch of turbulence.

Douglas Aircraft Co.'s long-running and expansive relationship with China has hit a speed bump, resulting in the termination of talks on at least one possible joint manufacturing program.

Whether the slowdown will be long-lasting and have some impact on the company's Long Beach operations, as well as Douglas's huge local export business to China and vast supplier network, remains to be seen.

But there appears little doubt the relationship -- which goes back to 1975 and produced one of Douglas's most consistent and biggest customers -- has changed, at least temporarily.

So far, the slowdown has not produced any cutbacks in commercial aircraft orders, which is the basis of the relationship. Douglas began talking to Chinese officials 19 years ago and in 1979 signed its first deal for Chinese workers to make landing gear doors for Douglas aircraft. In 1983, Douglas sold its first commercial aircraft to the China government -- an MD-80.

"I think what we're talking about here is a year or two period in which there could be some changes. In the overall scheme of things, that's not very long," said Don Hanson, a spokesman for Douglas. "What's going on is the Chinese recognize that they have been growing very fast and now it's time to take a breather and let their infrastructure catch up."

The changed relationship between Douglas and China came to the forefront following a recent trip to China by John McDonnell, chairman of McDonnell Douglas Corp. That company is the parent of Douglas Aircraft, which produces commercial aircraft in Long Beach.

After returning from the trip, McDonnell said he expects the Chinese to slow orders for commercial aircraft, said Hanson. According to a published report in Aviation Week, a trade journal, McDonnell told one group that China will probably not place any new orders for 18 months.

According to Hanson, the primary reason for the slowdown is the Chinese want to improve the safety record of their existing state-run airlines and commercial aviation system.

The most immediate impact of the retrenchment by the Chinese is negotiations to jointly build Douglas's planned MD-95 commercial aircraft have been terminated, said Hanson.

Douglas had been trying to jointly make the aircraft in China for use by the Chinese airlines.

"All I can say is that it (the agreement) just didn't come to fruition," said Hanson. The end of the talks with the Chinese, however, does not mean termination of the entire MD-95 program.

"It has gone through the conception-design phase and we have been given approval (by the McDonnell Douglas board of directors) to go ahead and make offers to the airlines to buy the aircraft," he said.

When there are enough orders, production will begin in Long Beach. Hanson would not say how many orders have been received or how many are needed to start production.

The MD-95 is a planned twin-jet commercial aircraft that would carry about 100 passengers and sell for approximately $25 million each.

It's unlikely the retrenchment will affect the manufacturer's $1 billion deal to sell 20 MD-80s and 20 MD-90s to the Chinese, said Hanson. Hanson said there isn't any danger in that agreement being canceled. However, the mix of aircraft between the two models could change, he said.

Douglas has not yet delivered any of the aircraft under the 20/20 deal. As part of the agreement, some of the aircraft will eventually be assembled in China.

The 20/20 deal is part of China's planned expansion of airline service in that country. The expansion could mean orders for up to 100 additional aircraft. Hanson said he couldn't specifically discuss or predict what is going to happen to those potential new orders.

The MD-80 is twin-jet aircraft that seats 150 passengers and sells for $30 million each. The MD-90 generally seats about 160 passengers and costs about $35 million each.

The slowdown in relations between Douglas and China comes just as the manufacturer is winding up a 35-plane deal with the Chinese. The last MD-80 of that agreement will be delivered sometime in the next month or two. The aircraft that have been part of that deal were assembled in Shanghai, China. Parts are shipped from Long Beach to Shanghai for final assembly.

China has also taken delivery of six of the manufacturer's widebody MD-11 aircraft, which seats up to 400 passengers and sells for about $100 million.

There are no orders for additional MD-11s and Hanson said the company is aggressively trying to market the plane to the Chinese. He could not predict whether the company will be successful in light of the new Chinese philosophy.