China’s widebody C929 ambitions could be lifted by US, European plane-part giants

China is on a path toward self-sufficiency, but advanced plane parts from overseas remain essential to its aviation dreams

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Visitors look at models of China’s domestically made passenger jets, the C919 and the planned C929, at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 5. Photo: AFP

Frank Chenin ZhuhaiandRalph Jenningsin Hong Kong

Published: 8:30pm, 13 Nov 2024Updated: 4:10pm, 15 Nov 2024

US jet-engine maker GE Aerospace and European landing-gear producer Liebherr say they intend to help the chief Chinese civilian-aircraft developer build its biggest jet yet, after decades of supplying components for smaller planes.

And their anticipated bids reflect how China could continue to rely on foreign partners amid its ramped-up push for industrial and technological self-sufficiency against the backdrop of persistent tensions with the West.

Liebherr will meet with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) later this week in Shanghai to discuss specifications for Comac’s widebody C929 aircraft, with an eye toward making a bid, chief customer officer Alex Vlielander told the Post on Wednesday.

With deliveries of the C929 expected to begin as early as 2027, the jet – Comac’s third civilian aircraft model, and a flagship example of China’s industrial independence aspirations – would compare in terms of flight distance with the Airbus 350 and Boeing 787 aircraft families

GE Aerospace, a stakeholder of the engine provider for the Chinese developer’s existing narrowbody C919 aircraft, is exploring with Comac “the possibility of further cooperation in many areas”, the American firm said in a statement to the Post on Wednesday.

“We are always interested in evaluating the possibility for new engine applications,” it added.