Despite China’s recent arrangement to unveil the C919, the U.S. government is preparing to restrict access to U.S. technology and products to a new wave of 89 Chinese companies with military ties, which could hit China’s plans to develop its own airliners, including the C919, foreign news agencies report.
According to a report today by the Central News Agency, the United States intends to sanction 89 Chinese companies, with China’s C919 airliner bearing the brunt of the sanctions. The report quoted Reuters as saying that the 89 Chinese companies on the U.S. list include Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the C919’s R&D manufacturer. As we all know, China’s aerospace industry has always had close ties with the Chinese military.
The C919 is a narrow-body airliner in the same class as the Boeing B737 and Airbus A320, with 158 to 168 seats and a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers, and was assembled in November 2015 and made its maiden flight in May 2017. According to previous plans, the C919 was scheduled to produce its first prototype by the end of 2015, but due to schedule delays, the first test flight did not take place until May 2017, and only six test aircraft have been produced, all of which have been put into certification test operations. On October 31 this year, COMAC deliberately arranged for the C919 to debut a test flight at the Nanchang Flight Conference, its first global dynamic display.
According to the Central News Agency, the C919 is shaping up to be China’s first self-developed large passenger aircraft. However, it still relies on U.S.-based suppliers for key components such as engines, electric power, hydraulic systems, and even brakes and tires. The C919 uses engines made by CFM, of which GE is a 50% shareholder.
As early as February of this year, the U.S. government intended to deny CFM a license to export more jet engines for civilian aircraft to China, the report said, citing earlier reports in the Wall Street Journal. Now that COMAC has been placed directly on the sanctions list, aviation industry insiders believe that it will affect the C919’s scheduled delivery date of 2021, which in turn will impact China’s plans to develop its own airliner.
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