Latest major news! According to a latest report by the British media Spectator Index on April 15, China has ordered its airlines to stop accepting Boeing aircraft.

What would it mean if this news is true?

As we all know, China never fights an unprepared battle and considers whether it can withstand retaliation from the other side before making every countermove. Once China really stops accepting Boeing aircraft, it will face four major problems if a certain country retaliates: domestic maintenance issues for Boeing aircraft operations, aircraft fleet renewal issues for airlines, supply issues of U.S.-made components for the domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919, and the issue of domestically produced engines for the C919.

If China really stops accepting Boeing technology, it means that China has made preparations in three aspects:

Firstly, China has the ability to independently solve the supply and maintenance issues of existing Boeing series parts domestically.

Although China's civil aviation industry still lags behind the United States and Europe, domestic aircraft maintenance centers have already been established, such as Xiamen Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Boeing Maintenance and Modification Engineering Co., Ltd. Therefore, China has the capability to repair Boeing aircraft independently.

In addition, China is deeply involved in the manufacturing of Boeing aircraft parts. Data shows that the proportion of Chinese-made parts used in Boeing aircraft varies with models and statistical methods, but approximately 34% of Boeing aircraft use Chinese-made parts and components, and 20% of the parts rely on Chinese supply. China plays an important role in the manufacturing of Boeing aircraft, participating in the production of all Boeing models, including the 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787.

Secondly, China has alternatives to Boeing aircraft.

On April 12, China Southern Airlines announced the auction of all its Boeing 787-8 aircraft at a price of $550 million, including a total of 10 aircraft and 2 engines! The announcement caused an uproar among the public. This undoubtedly indicates that China is completely unfazed by the possibility of the disconnection leading to the inability of the civil aviation fleet to be continuously updated!

Economies capable of supplying passenger aircraft include the United States, Russia, Europe, China, Canada, and Brazil. Among them, Russia and Europe can supply a series of aircraft including regional jets, narrow-body mainline aircraft, and wide-body mainline aircraft. That is to say, Boeing technology is not irreplaceable.

Purchasing passenger aircraft from Airbus of Europe or from Russia could still meet China's demand for civil aviation passenger aircraft.

Thirdly, China has the confidence to solve the supply or replacement problem of U.S.-made components for the C919 passenger aircraft.

The fuselage, landing gear, avionics system, and aviation engine are called the four key systems of civil aviation passenger aircraft.

On May 28, 2023, the first C919 delivered to China Eastern Airlines successfully completed its first commercial passenger flight, operating the MU9191 flight from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to Beijing Capital Airport. At that time, COMAC disclosed that the domestication rate of the C919 was about 60%.

On February 28, 2025, according to Guangming.com, AVIC recently announced that the opening ceremony of the C919 main landing gear production line and the delivery ceremony of the first piston rod were successfully held on February 26 in Changsha. This marks that China has completed the domestication of the landing gear system of the C919's four key systems.

In terms of the avionics system, COMAC adopted the method of splitting modules and joint research and development, achieving breakthroughs in some key technologies of the avionics system, such as independently developing flight control law algorithms. In fact, as early as the 1970s, China had mastered the avionics system through the development of the Y-10 passenger aircraft. The safe operation of Y-20, a large military transport aircraft, for many years also proves that China has the full capability to independently develop highly reliable avionics systems.

Moreover, the domestically developed CJ1000 aero-engine currently under final certification testing is about to perfectly solve the domestic power issue for the C919.

Currently, the domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 uses the LEAP-1C high-bypass turbofan engine produced by the U.S.-French joint venture CFM. If willing, the United States has the authority to decide to ban the sale of LEAP-1C to any enterprise.

Then what should China do if it cannot buy LEAP-1C?

Without the diamond drill, one doesn't undertake porcelain work. Daring to take countermeasures in the civil aviation field must mean having the relevant preparations in place; otherwise, retaliating could collapse China's civilian aviation industry, which would be a great loss.

In fact, the progress of the domestically produced CJ1000 aero-engine for the domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 is very rapid, and its performance in tests exceeds the most optimistic expectations of professionals.

According to reports by Guancha Observer Network, from March 27 to March 28, the 2025 (Ninth) Commercial Aero Engine Technology Conference was held in Taicang, Jiangsu. At the conference, Shi Jianzhong, honorary president of the Shanghai Aeronautical Society and director of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said in his speech, "The performance of the CJ1000 engine is better than my most optimistic expectation."

As an authoritative figure, Shi Jianzhong's optimism about the CJ1000 clearly indicates that this standard domestically produced engine for the C919 performs excellently in tests, with technical indicators likely exceeding expectations.

A vice president of AECC Chengdu Engine Company confirmed to the South China Morning Post that after testing on the Y-20 large military transport aircraft, the CJ1000 "will soon" be validated for application on the C919.

The message revealed by the vice president of AECC Chengdu Engine Company confirms that the CJ1000 has a high level of technological maturity and is expected to be nearing the end of its airworthiness certification test flights. After obtaining the airworthiness certificate, it will be installed on the domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 for validation test flights.

After the successful development of the WS-10 and WS-15 engines, China's aero-engine industry has already established a complete R&D system, and producing qualified civilian aero-engines is just a matter of time. With the CJ1000 entering the final stages of development, that day is fast approaching.

​

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493712802507538955/

Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views. You can express your attitude by clicking the 【Upvote/Downvote】buttons below.