China plans to produce its own large commercial jet by 2020 to challenge the dominance of Airbus and Boeing in the world’s fastest-growing aircraft market. Beijing has accelerated the development of a home-grown passenger aircraft to compete for the billions of dollars it is spending on foreign planes. The blueprint for the large aircraft project will be completed by 2010.
The primary motivation is economic. China is in the middle of a five-year plan to buy 500 jetliners, recruit 5 000 pilots and build 48 airports. By 2025, it expects to spend several trillion dollars more on the purchase of 2Â 230 planes.
Until now, domestic companies have been unable to compete for this business. But a Xinhua news agency report said the country now has the economic power and technological skill to build large aircraft.
Aircraft manufacturers’ consortium China Aviation Industry Corporation I will build the plane.
“From a technical standpoint, it is realistic,” said Richard Pinkham, a Singapore-based analyst with the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. He said the 13year time frame allows plenty lead time.
In the short term, the Chinese planes are not expected to compete in the international market. But they will be guaranteed strong sales domestically, because the government exercises considerable influence over the airline industry. This could dent the prospects of Boeing and Airbus, which have become increasingly dependent on the world’s most populous nation. – Â