The Chinese Plane Maker in Boeing and Airbus’ Slipstream

Making passenger planes is an exceptionally daunting task. There are safety requirements and complex systems, not to mention sky-high costs. Though the pace of China’s efforts to build a self-reliant aviation industry may appear glacial, its trajectory is clear, if filled with hurdles.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd. is the state-owned aerospace manufacturer tasked with the endeavor. The majority of its customers are Chinese airlines, but Comac, as it is known, is starting to burnish its reputation overseas by exporting the C909, a single-aisle jet used mainly on regional routes, to markets in Southeast Asia. It’s an incremental step — by 2030, the Shanghai-based plane maker will still be a minnow next to industry giants Airbus SE and Boeing Co. But it will have begun to position itself as a credible challenger to the decades-long duopoly.