State-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) is expected to launch test flights this year of its C919 passenger aircraft, which recently completed basic assembly.

The Xinhua news agency reports that this aircraft is China’s answer to passenger planes from Boeing and Airbus, and already has secured 450 orders from 18 customers. This reportedly is one of the first steps China is taking to develop a commercial aircraft to compete with U.S. and European manufacturers. The news agency did not give further details on a timeline.

Airbus has forecast that China’s domestic aviation market will become the world’s largest over the next 10 years.

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