A unit of the shipbuilding conglomerate, China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, on Friday got official approval to launch its baggage handling system on the market.

It is the first such system manufactured by a Chinese company, and puts Kunming Shipbuilding Equipment Co Ltd, or KSEC, in direct competition with foreign rivals such as Siemens AG, whose products have been widely used in Chinese airports.

Incorporating an equal level of quality and technical sophistication, the Chinese equipment can be purchased for just 70 percent of the cost of systems manufactured overseas. Annual service and maintenance charges amount to 0.2 percent of the total cost of the equipment, compared to between 2 percent and 5 percent for foreign products, industry data showed.