China's first domestically produced passenger plane flies outside mainland China

Accordingly, the C919 passenger plane will fly over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor next week. This is seen as part of promoting the image of this aircraft for the first time outside the mainland.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the jetliner produced by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) will also be on display at Hong Kong International Airport from December 12 to 17.

Image of the C919 making its first commercial flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai on May 28. (Photo: Reuters)

“On December 16, the C919 will make a flight to Victoria Harbour. The public can witness the first time the C919 flies over Hong Kong,” said Mr. Lee Ka-Chiu.

Mr. Li Ka-Chia also said that Beijing “has chosen Hong Kong as the first city for the C919 aircraft to visit outside the mainland.”

COMAC's smaller, older ARJ21 jet will also be on display in Hong Kong for six days.

The C919 made its first commercial flight in May. Successfully building the plane is seen as key to Beijing's decades-long ambition to compete with Western rivals in the air and cut China's dependence on foreign technology.

China has invested heavily in the domestic production of the C919 jet as it seeks to become self-sufficient in key technologies. Beijing hopes the C919 will challenge foreign models such as the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320, although many of the C919's components are sourced abroad.

The jet first began development in 2008 but only received official certification to fly last year.

Bloomberg News reported that the C919 has yet to find international customers, while the ARJ21 is operated in China and Indonesia.

In January, COMAC Deputy General Manager Zhang Yujin said the company had received about 1,200 orders for the C919. At the time, he said COMAC planned to increase its annual production capacity to 150 models within five years.

Kong Anh (Source: AFP)

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