Maker of China’s C919 jet to scout for Middle Eastern buyers at Dubai Airshow

China’s passenger jet manufacturer will make its Dubai Airshow debut next month, when it is likely to scout for buyers of its small C909 and narrowbody C919 aircraft in the Middle East.

The air show’s website lists Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) among its 1,500 exhibitors, and analysts said the Shanghai-based, state-owned planemaker’s participation at the event from November 17 to 21 would mark a first for the company.

Comac has been looking for overseas buyers of its older, smaller C909 aircraft, formerly known as the ARJ21, along with its newer single-aisle C919 jets after growth in orders in China. A take-off in overseas sales would advance Comac’s ambition to disrupt the global Airbus-Boeing duopoly for passenger aircraft.

Comac’s slot at the Dubai Airshow will give it exposure to more than 148,000 attendees, according to figures on the show’s website.

“It’s absolutely an important air show,” said Hugh Ritchie, CEO of Australia-based Aviation Analysts International. “I think [Comac] will get a lot of attention. If I were an airline manager, I’d be looking very astutely at the Chinese aircraft.”

The C909 and C919 could be flying high on the recent growth in China’s trade ties with the Middle East.

China and countries in the Middle East have stepped up trade over the past few years following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and increasing tensions in China’s trade relationship with the United States. Beijing’s 12-year-old Belt and Road Initiative, which is focused on building trade-linked infrastructure overseas, resulted in US$19.4 billion in construction engagement in the Middle East in the first half of this year, according to a report released in July by the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia.

South China Morning Post