Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC, 中國商用飛機公司) plans to build an assembly line for its homegrown C919 jetliners in Shanghai, the latest step in the country’s ambitions to become a leader in world aviation.
The company announced the showcase project following a signing ceremony on Wednesday with officials of Shanghai’s Pudong District, where the plant will be set up.
China is counting on the C919, a narrow-body, single-aisle aircraft that is the nation’s newest and biggest homegrown commercial jetliner, to compete against Western rivals in the high-stakes international aviation market.
Construction of the factory is to begin soon, with capacity to reach 20 C919s and 50 ARJ 21-series regional jets by 2016, the company said in a statement.
Shanghai-based COMAC was set up last year to develop and build passenger aircraft. The company also has research and development facilities in Pudong.
The C919 is due to make its maiden flight by 2014 and to begin deliveries to customers by 2016.
Earlier this week, General Electric’s aviation unit teamed up with Aviation Industry Corp of China, COMAC’s state-run parent company, to develop and market electronic systems for commercial aircraft customers, including the C919 narrow-body aircraft.
GE is also supplying engines for the 70 to 110-seat ARJ-21 passenger jet, designed for the local market.
China’s huge aviation market has continued to grow quickly, despite the world economic slump. Air passenger traffic rose nearly 20 percent in the first 10 months of the year from the year before to 191.9 million, China’s Civil Aviation Administration said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary