The C919 passenger jet is welcomed with a conventional water salute at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday. (Photo by Wang Yang/For China Daily)
The first domestically manufactured passenger jet C919, a model similar in size to the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737, was put into commercial operation on Sunday flying between Beijing Capital International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
That marks a big step forward for China's aviation industry. The further development of domestically produced passenger jets is likely to make the country a major global supplier of civil aircraft and relevant products and services in the lucrative market that is primarily dominated by the United States and Europe.
The C919 has entered commercial service at a time when the US, along with its allies, is seeking to decouple from China in technology, research and high-tech industries. This shows that even facing such a harsh external development conditions the Chinese people can still make breakthroughs in some key technologies.
However, it should still be noted that the design and manufacturing of C919 mainly happened between 2007 and 2017 when the first trial flight of the plane was launched and proved to be a success, before the US tightened up its control on technology and industry exchanges and cooperation.
And it should also be pointed out that there are still gaps in some fields between the C919 and Airbus 320 and Boeing 737, two reliable models that have been widely used around the world for years. There remains a long way to go for China to break the two companies' dominance of the world market.
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