China seeks European approval of C919, wants its home-grown jet to compete with Boeing and Airbus abroad
- Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will seek to work with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to allow its ‘domestic civil aircraft to go abroad’
- The home-grown C919 narrowbody passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight in May, but has only been certified by China’s regulator
China said it would promote the certification of its domestically built narrowbody passenger jet in Europe this year, as part of efforts to receive more international recognition for the C919 and compete with Boeing and Airbus.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told an annual industry working conference in Beijing on Thursday that it would increase its efforts to work with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to allow its “domestic civil aircraft to go abroad”, according to CAAC News, a publication owned by the Chinese aviation regulator.
Manufactured by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), the C919 has been designed to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320.
The CAAC has bilateral aviation-safety agreements with the EASA and the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States for certification validation that would allow Chinese-made aerospace products to be exported to the US and the European Union based on mutual recognition of the respective processes.
Under the agreements, regulators would work together to validate the airworthiness of an aircraft design, known as a type certification.
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Why it took China’s home-grown C919 plane 15 years to start flying passengers
On Thursday, the CAAC also said this year it would prioritise reviews of “national key models”- the domestically designed CJ-1000 engine, which is being developed for the C919 and the AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft.
“The civil aviation industry [in China] adheres to self-reliance, openness and inclusiveness,” the CAAC said.
The regulator added that the industry would focus on solving numerous bottlenecks and “choke points” concerning technical equipment, production processes and key operation systems that are “controlled by others” to reduce risks in the long-term development of the industry.
The C919 counts many foreign companies as its suppliers for key components, with its engine made by CFM International, a joint venture between the US’ GE Aerospace and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.
On Tuesday, the Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines said it had received its fourth C919 jet.
Along with semiconductors, civil aviation manufacturing has been named as a strategic industry for China’s economic growth that the government would support and promote, according to guidelines published by the National Development and Reform Commission last week.
