China’s C919 debut could inspire aviation supply chain to take off, but self-sufficiency ‘difficult’

The successful commercial debut of China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet has already prompted market expectations for a fast expansion of the domestic aircraft production supply chain, as Beijing seeks to to break its reliance on Boeing and Airbus.

Sunday’s first commercial flight between Shanghai and Beijing has been seen as a critical step in China’s bid for technological self-sufficiency in the face of intensifying trade tensions with the United States.