BEIJING - China has unveiled the country's first national fund aimed at investing in aerospace, state media reported, as the country tries to compete with the industry's heavyweights.

Investors in the fund, which expects to raise 30 billion yuan (4.4 billion dollars), include state-run operations such as Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base, the Xinhua news agency said Sunday.

The fund is located in the northwestern city of Xi'an, one of five aircraft industry bases set up in China, the report said.

This is the first time the country has launched a fund to help develop the aerospace industry, which has previously relied on government special-purpose financing, the report added.

Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base focuses on the manufacturing of passenger aircraft and is involved in developing the homegrown mid-range aircraft ARJ-21 with 70 to 90 seats, according to its website. The country has announced plans to build its own jumbo jets with more than 150 seats to compete with world giants Boeing and Airbus.

Robust growth in China's aviation market in recent years has given rise to predictions that the nation will need more than 3,000 new aircraft in the coming two decades.

Last week the first A320 Airbus to be assembled in China was unveiled a  the company's only plant outside Europe.