With maiden jet flight, China enters dog-fight with Boeing, Airbus

It's only a matter of time before they master the technology...

From supercomputers to assembling a space station, China does not disappoint... when they set out to accomplish something...

It's only a matter of time before they master the technology...

correction its only a matter of time before they can copy the technology properly. I'd rather walk and swim than set foot on anything copied/made by China.

Well, congrats and all that, but there was a time when the Soviets, and then Russia, were producing a whole lot of planes. They will have their successes, but they are coming in at number 5 or 6, not number 3. Let's see how things go.

Something that should be disappointing everyone here is that it does not appear that anything is being innovated. Same aircraft, same scale, same old thing. Cookie cutter commodity aircraft are not going to be taking humanity forward. They are making heavy investments in technology that might be obsolete already. If they are making the planes cheaper, they will have to make a lot of them. And that really might not be a good thing for "the world."

@5SpeedRacer5 Today  08:55 am JST

It's their first plane, so the main thing is to learn by painful experience the process of getting it certified to Western standards so it might actually sell even at a low price.

It'll be a cold day in hell when you find me stepping on one of these. The July, 2011 Wenzhou train collision has taught us that the Chinese government is more interested in promoting Chinese industrial might than safety or quality.

It's only a matter of time before they master the technology...

After Western countries hand it to them on a platter in exchange for being allowed to operate in China.

China's grand strategy is to become self-reliant. By that time, China will be the world's No. 1 economy and will be in a position to nudge the foreigners out. This is what the free-traders don't get, and why globalization is doomed.

Correct me If I'm Wrong, but the word "Develop in China" only means Copying a design and buying American Turbofan engines and Avionics. That plane doesn't bring anything new to the Aircraft world but manufacturing of Fusselage in China

"t's their first plane, so the main thing is to learn by painful experience the process"

Right. As I said. Congrats. And I don't say that because I am impressed, but it is just another step. My comment also hinted at some dangers of entering a highly oligopolistic market as an entrant. Without having a differentiated product, they might get chewed.

If you look at Japan and other national efforts at aviation, they have chosen their niches carefully and they can hang on, probably just from filling those niches worldwide. But here with China, as I said, they will have to make big investments just to enter a market that, although large, has already been analyzed and carved up for decades. Can they offer reliability? no. A strong track record? no. Innovation? no. Better leasing and financing deals? Insurance? Probably not.

So. You mentioned that they are aiming at Western markets. More likely they will be serving domestic markets and hoping for something better until they can bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, they have already invested heavily in NOT producing something new.

Airbus have foolishly built an aeroplane construction facility in China. I'm sure all the know-how and technology will have been copied by now. Then Airbus and Boeing can watch the Chinese market disappear as Chinese airlines are forced to buy Chinese aircraft. Then they can watch sales to emerging markets disappear as the Chinese undercut them on price.

Good for China at least now they helping themselves without need to look around for help.

A copy of an airbus. Yawn.

"hen Airbus and Boeing can watch the Chinese market disappear as Chinese airlines are forced to buy Chinese aircraft. Then they can watch sales to emerging markets disappear as the Chinese undercut them on price."

It might work out that way. But it might not. And if it does, it might not be a bad thing. As I alluded above, rushing to copy something that is already obsolete is probably not a winning strategy, and China Inc. is setting itself up for a whole obsolete supply chain and infrastructure. By the time China gets its system all put together, Boeing and Airbus will have moved on to something better, newer, or whatever. China will be making their spare parts for them just to stay in the game.

What if the Japanese auto industry had rushed headlong to copy the Pinto and the Gremlin just as the US was rolling out a hybrid? Well, things did not work out that way, but what if they had?