Chinese President Xi meets C919 project team

Beijing, The Gulf Observer: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday commended the achievements made in the development of the C919 large passenger aircraft and called for more major breakthroughs in China’s high-end equipment manufacturing.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when meeting representatives from the project team of the C919 and viewing an exhibition on the project’s achievements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Efforts should be made to achieve breakthroughs in key and core technologies, he said.

Xi added that safety should come first, and the development of large aircraft shall be done well.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the manufacturer of the C919, won the “type certification” for the jet from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Thursday.

With its development plan approved in 2007 and its maiden flight made in 2017, the C919 is China’s first trunk jetliner developed in accordance with international standards of airworthiness and with independent intellectual property rights.

The first C919 jet is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.