Strange that. I'd pay the extra £25 to get the ones with no tick. And I wouldn't buy the ticked ones at any price.
I could not agree more! But on to the subject at hand...
My two pence worth.... (all my opinion - not fact)
China would like to grow a GA industry, and will not afford to buy our aeronautical products in large numbers, when they know they can make their own at a lower cost.
China has an adequate infrastructure for jets (jet fuel at airports), but not Avgas, and China realizes that Avgas is a dying product, which is expensive and complex to make and distribute - They don't want to be in that business, and certainly won't buy our Avgas. So they don't want many Avgas engines for themselves.
What China
does want is diesel techology, and Continental has it, as a result of a deal with SMA earlier in the year. With diesel, they can make GA aircraft for Chinese use, and those aircraft can easily operate within the existing infrastructure - jet fuel.
So, China is happy to make Avgas Continental engines in the US, for the existing market. China is eager to make diesel engines in the US, because some of us want them, and we'll bear the costs of development, and installation development on existing types. (I'll buy the first one certified - either the new SMA, or the new Continental, which ever comes first, I have a C182 waiting, firewall bare). We will operate these new engines enought to "get the bugs out" for them, because we have the experience to know how. China will then mirror the diesel production in China for their market, and they'll be flying for a quarter of the cost we are. In 30 years, China will be the place to go to get your license.
In the mean time, we really won't see much difference in our industry, unless we look into China...