China's Big Aircraft: Challenges and Opportunities
China has long aspired to become a country that independently manufactures large civil aircraft. With the launch of a series of domestic commercial airliners such as the ARJ-21 and C-919, China has finally embarked on the road to compete for the international civil aviation market. However, just building an aircraft is not the end, the international civil aviation market has always been dominated by European and American aviation giants, so China's large aircraft must experience a fierce competition to get a piece of this market.
French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to China
In 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron visited China and successfully signed a $20 billion order covering 160 Airbus aircraft. The deal has given strength to France's manufacturing sector and is seen as a victory for the Macron government to make up for its previous bid with the United States for nuclear submarine orders. In fact, the United States not only intervened in the French nuclear submarine deal with Australia, but also forcibly took away French orders through political influence. The order for 160 passenger aircraft has allowed Airbus to dominate the Chinese civil aviation market, significantly suppressing the American Boeing and making France happy.
Boeing's competition with Airbus
Boeing and Airbus have always been competitors in the commercial airliner market. The Civil Aviation Corporation of China has purchased Boeing aircraft in large quantities. However, due to the deterioration of Sino-US relations and Boeing's multiple aviation accidents in recent years, China is increasingly inclined to Airbus in terms of purchasing passenger aircraft. So far, China has ordered more than $500 billion from Airbus in total, much to Boeing's jealousy.
U.S. threats and countermeasures
The US media has recently published some threatening statements that if China provides any form of military assistance to Russia, they will take measures to crack down on China's civil aviation industry, mainly targeting China's large aircraft program. There are complex political factors behind the move. First of all, the civil aviation market should be an area of commercial competition, judged by product quality and performance, rather than interference by political factors. Second, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an excuse in line with Western political interests, and the United States is trying to weaken Russia and give a black hand to China's large aircraft program.
China's countermeasures and challenges
China has its own strength, because China has a huge civil aviation market. China decides which aircraft to purchase without interference from the United States. If the U.S. threatens to interrupt supplies of C-919 engines, Boeing will also not be able to secure orders from China. China's civil aviation could choose Airbus aircraft, which would put the United States in trouble.
For China's large aircraft program to succeed, however, China must address its own challenges. At present, the C-919 has reached the international advanced level in avionics flight control and aerodynamic design, but engine technology still needs to be improved. Only when China's large aircraft program has the ability to compete with Airbus and Boeing, especially in engine technology, can China truly compete in the international civil aviation market.