- [Narrator] This is Comac C919. China's first homegrown narrow body jet that's been in the works
for more than a decade. This is a 737 MAX 8, Boeing's
popular narrow body plane among airlines worldwide. This type of plane can
cover lots of domestic and intercontinental routes. Accounting for more
than half of the global passenger aircraft fleet. And that's a big reason why
Beijing hopes its own model can compete with western
giants like Boeing and become the main carrier at home. Eventually, one day, taking
on the global airspace. So we compare the design and
technology of both planes, to see how China's deep
reliance on Western parts could stymie Beijing's ambition
to challenge its US rival. Boeing has more than a
hundred years of experience with commercial aviation. China in comparison started
exploring the industry in the 1970s, but for several decades, wasn't able to develop its own airliner. So Boeing became one of
China's go-to companies. - In China, Boeing has had
a great couple decades. - [Narrator] Richard
Aboulafia is managing director with aerodynamic advisory and aerospace and defense
consultancy based in Michigan. For more than 30 years, he's been tracking global aviation markets with Boeing as one of his main focuses. - If you look back at
China economic growth and air travel demand growth, it really took off in the '90s. And sometime in the 2000s,
that began to translate into very large jetliner sales numbers. - [Narrator] Boeing jetliner sales hit a record high in 2017. The American giant sent more
than 200 planes to China. That's about a quarter of
all its deliveries that year. It also has a 737 completion
and delivery plant there. Today, about 40% of
China's passenger fleet comes from Boeing, with more than half of the planes held by
the European giant Airbus which also has an assembly plan in China. So in order to reduce its reliance on the two Western jet liners, the Chinese government
has been focused on Comac, which was established in 2008. And Chinese President Xi
Jinping has especially been keen on creating a domestic airliner. (speaking Mandarin) - [Narrator] China hasn't revealed how much it's invested in Comac but some aerospace analysts estimate that the state owned company
has received somewhere between 49 and $72
billion in government aid. - That was and is a
national goal for China to be able to compete
against the US and Boeing. - [Narrator] Alex Krutz
is managing director with US-based aerospace consulting firm, Patriot Industrial Partners, and he's been following Comax programs for about seven years. - [Alex] Ultimately,
designing and building a successful commercial
airliners is very technologically advanced for countries to be able to do. - [Narrator] So to develop a
successful commercial airliner, China has been eyeing
western designs like Boeing. The two jets are both narrow
bodies with a single aisle. They're also about the same size and carry a similar number of passengers. Even the engines aren't too different. - They're from CFM,
which is a joint venture between General Electric
and Safran of France, and they're very similar engines with roughly similar levels of technology. - [Narrator] Both engines are models from the LEAP one series from CFM. - [Richard] LEAP-1B is for
Boeing, LEAP-1C is for Comac. - [Narrator] But the MAX
8 and the C919 need more than just the engines to take off. - They need other systems
like the mechanical systems, landing gears or management systems avionics for the cockpits. - [Narrator] These components
and their supply chains have played a big role
in establishing Boeing as an industry leader over the years. With decades of experience,
the American company has developed steady relationships with its partners and
suppliers at home and abroad, and most of them are
close allies of the US. - It's very much an
international creation. Boeing's major international
partner is Japan, Britain, France, Canada, Italy,
Germany, and many others. - [Narrator] Those
partnerships have helped Boeing secure some of the most
advanced technologies for its aircraft like the cockpit, which is the brain of the plane. Comac also needs a global supply chain to put the C919 together, especially from American
and European companies. But aerospace analysts
say some foreign suppliers have been reluctant to provide
state-of-the-art components over concerns about their
intellectual property. This has saddled the C919
with older technology than the 737 MAX 8 and
even the Airbus 320neo. But this may not be the biggest
risk to the Comac project. - There's this, I guess,
sword hanging over the 919, and a lot of it does
come down to geopolitics. - [Narrator] The US has long accused China as seeking to steal advanced technologies for use in its military, which
Beijing repeatedly denied. In January last year, the Trump
administration added Comac to a list of companies
that it said supported China's military, curbing the
plane manufacturer's access to American technology and funding. Comac was later removed when President Biden issued a new list. The Chinese company didn't respond to a request for comment
about the blacklist and concerns over IP infringement, as well as whether geopolitical tensions could pose a risk to its C919 program. Even if these vulnerabilities with sourcing critical
western parts disappeared, aviation experts say Comax
still has other challenges. - Learning how to build it, conforming, that is to say each
article is exactly the same as the previous one,
that's a major challenge. That's one of the easiest
places to stumble. - [Narrator] And another stumbling block if and when China goes global, the lack of a worldwide support system for operators to obtain C919 spare parts or receive maintenance and repairs. - Got a service at aftermarket
support for the airplanes. So there's vast networks that Boeing has that Comac has to develop. - [Narrator] For Boeing, the US giant also has its own problems,
especially in the Chinese market. As trade tensions broke out between the US and China in 2017, Beijing
froze nearly all orders and deliveries of Boeing's planes. Since early 2019, the country has also kept
the 737 MAX grounded, after two fatal crashes
in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Boeing says it continues to
work with global regulators and customers to safely return the 737 MAX and cease China as an important market for the company's commercial planes, urging dialogue between
Beijing and Washington. Despite the challenges,
Comac is moving forward. The C919 marked a major milestone in September towards carrying passengers, and the company has plans to develop a wide body plane as well. But for Comac to rival Boeing, it'll be a long and
perhaps bumpy flight ahead.
