China’s home-grown planes touch down in Southeast Asia as West mulls approval
- US$2 billion agreement expands footprint of domestic models as certification winds its way through US, Europe
- Appropriations facilitated by state entities account for major portion of purchase ledgers
As it waits for the long process of certification to work its way out in wealthier markets, China has turned to a new client base – Southeast Asia – for its home-made passenger planes.
At the recently concluded China-Asean expo in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) signed a US$2 billion deal with Brunei’s Gallop Air to supply it with 30 aircraft.
The deal was announced on Monday by Tianju Group, a Shaanxi-based private enterprise with an ownership stake in the Brunei airline, but no details about delivery time or aircraft type were provided.
Comac did not reply to a request from the South China Morning Post for comment on the state of its orders.
“Gallop Air will join hands with Comac’s domestically produced jets, the ARJ21 and C919, to build on Brunei’s soaring reputation for quality and branding in Asia and Oceania,” Tianju Group said in a statement.
The online version of Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily also cited potential cooperation in the development of China’s aviation sector.