One of China’s long-held ambitions is to produce its own large aircraft. Now, after the plan was formally approved by the State Council in mid-March, this dream could become a reality before 2020.

The ability to build large commercial aircraft, generally referring to passenger airliners with 200 or more seats or cargo carriers with a capacity exceeding 100 tons, is believed to symbolize a country’s sci-tech achievements and its economic strength. The establishment and development of an entire industrial chain for this purpose will not only boost China’s national economy and R&D capabilities, but also greatly enhance state security. In other fields, such as fostering an internationally competitive aviation sector, transforming the economic growth mode, promoting sci-tech progress, raising overall national strength and speeding up the national modernization drive, this landmark project will also play a vitally important role.

The Chinese Government has attached great importance to the project, which was proposed three years ago. After careful feasibility studies featuring heated debate, it was included in the national middle- and long-term sci-tech development program last year.

Historically, the building of large commercial aircraft has been on the agenda of successive Chinese governments. More than 30 years ago, it was first initiated by late Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. In the 1970s, China’s first self-developed large jetliner, Yun-10, rolled off the assembly line, initially fulfilling a dream of generations of Chinese people. Unfortunately, the program later proved technologically and economically premature and was scrapped.

Thanks to the all-round progress China has made over the past few decades, it now has abundant economic and technological resources to revive the suspended dream of entering the international aircraft market despite the cutthroat competition that exists.

China is now the world’s fourth largest economy in terms of the volume of gross domestic product, with annual fiscal revenues exceeding 4 trillion yuan ($519 billion) and foreign exchange reserves topping $1.2 trillion. More importantly, the successful development of the proprietary 70-seater ARJ-21 feeder airliner has remarkably raised the Chinese aviation sector’s capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, flight testing and certification and project management.

It is true that the technological gap between Chinese aircraft makers and industry leaders worldwide is still large, most notably in terms of overall design. Luckily, China does not have to start from scratch in its quest for sky power. Manufacturing technologies transferred from the United States in the 1980s and 1990s on large aircraft fuselages and some key components and parts, plus a technical contingent having participated in the development of Yun-10 and the Sino-U.S. joint production of MD airplanes, have laid a solid foundation for China-made trunk liners.

The country has now established R&D and manufacturing bases for fuselages, engines and related equipment, forming a complete industrial chain. The fact that Boeing and Airbus have contracted the production of some key components and parts for their aircraft to a host of Chinese companies also testifies to China’s growing strength in this field.

According to a Boeing estimate, China will have to buy 2,100-2,400 passenger jets, worth more than $197 billion, in the coming 20 years to expand its fleet. However, many believe the abovementioned figure is somewhat conservative, given the surging demand for air services in the Chinese market. China, with its own-brand large aircraft becoming reality, seems set to grab a significant share of this lucrative market.