China promotes homegrown large aircraft abroad

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said it will promote its domestic narrow-body passenger jets to be certified in Europe this year, as part of the C919's efforts to gain more international recognition and compete with Boeing and Airbus, South China Morning Post reported on Jan 4.

CAAC said at an annual industry work conference held in Beijing on Jan 4 that it will increase cooperation with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to promote the domestic civil aircraft to go abroad, CAAC News reported.

The C919 has been in commercial operation in China since May 2023.

The CAAC has signed an aviation safety certification agreement with the EASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Chinese-made aviation products to be exported to the United States and the European Union on the basis of mutual recognition of their respective processes.

Under the agreement, regulators will work together to verify the airworthiness of aircraft designs.

Earlier, Zhou Xinmin, general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, said that China needs to further support its domestic aircraft to go global.

On Jan 4, the CAAC also said that this year it would prioritize reviews of "national key models"- the domestically designed CJ-1000 engine, which is being developed for the C919, and the amphibious aircraft AG600.

CAAC said that China's civil aviation industry adheres to self-reliance, and the industry will focus on solving the "bottleneck" problem of technical equipment, production processes and key operating systems to reduce the risk of long-term development of the industry.

China Eastern Airlines, based in Shanghai, said on Jan 2 that it had put its fourth C919 into service.