The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industry
China hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday.
The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later.
It has been billed as China’s alternative to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly that dominates global aviation, particularly in Asia, but analysts say it could take generations before a Chinese aircraft could meaningfully challenge their global dominance.
The C919 is made by the Chinese state-owned aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) and is similar in size to the Boeing 737.
The C919 has been flying on domestic routes operated by Chinese airlines since 2023. But Wednesday’s Air China flight to Ulaanbaatar will be the first time that the narrow-body jet is used on a commercial international route.
“This is essentially a public relations move,” said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “Ulaanbaatar was likely chosen because of how close it is to Beijing. It doesn’t change the fact that the plane was years overdue, is composed of western components, and is less efficient than its Boeing and Airbus cousins.”
China has long dreamed of building its own jet. When the C919 was unveiled in 2015, Li Jiaxiang, the head of China’s civil aviation authority, said: “A great nation must have its own large commercial aircraft.”
But progress has been slow, even while China has whizzed ahead in other hi-tech fields, such as robotics and electric vehicles (EVs).
That is because aviation requires the integration of many different types of advanced science and engineering, as well as parts sourced from overseas. An analysis by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in 2020 found that more than half of the C919’s suppliers were in the US.
“Large passenger aircraft and jet engines are extremely complex and challenging to manufacture. They require precision components, complex electro-mechanical control systems, and the ability to coordinate a vast global supply chain,” said Kyle Chan, a fellow at Brookings focused on China’s industrial policy.
“There’s a reason there are basically only two major commercial aircraft makers in the world. Building large passenger jets that are safe and reliable is an order of magnitude more difficult than making EVs,” Chan said.
Last year Comac reportedly delivered only 15 units of the C919 to customers, well short of its target of 75.
Comac did not respond to a request for comment.
Comac primarily serves Chinese domestic airlines. In 2023, the Brunei-based airline GallopAir signed a $2bn deal to purchase 30 planes from Comac, including 15 of the C919, but the airline is not operating commercially yet. The C919 has not been approved by European or American regulators.
Last year the US reportedly suspended the export of some products to Comac for use in the C919 jet amid the tit-for-tat restrictions that Beijing and Washington used against each other during the US-China trade war.
The two countries later agreed a trade war truce that is set to expire in November.
When US president Donald Trump visited Beijing in May for a state visit, one of the few takeaways from the trip was an agreement from China to buy 200 jets from Boeing.
In return, the US provided supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components for its own manufacturing.
China sees being able to build its own commercial aircraft as a national security priority.
In a recent interview with Chinese state media, Zhang Yanzhong, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a leading aviation expert who worked on the C919, said reliance on other countries for large aircraft technology would “threaten national strategic security”.
However, there was still “a long way to go before achieving commercial success”, Zhang said.
Experts have pointed out that Comac’s dependence on foreign suppliers goes beyond the supply of individual components. International suppliers have also provided guidance about how to integrate complex components and software together into sky-worthy commercial aircraft.
Kennedy argued it was misleading to describe the C919 as a Chinese plane because so many of its parts were imported. He said it was “very unlikely” for Comac to become a serious challenger to Boeing and Airbus, “even a generation from now”.
Chan said Comac could still face “a long road to gaining trust among airlines and passengers”.
Zhang called on China’s young engineers to contribute their talents to China’s aviation ambitions, saying: “Though the journey may be fraught with difficulties, a fledgling eagle can soar faster than its parent.”
