China's COMAC advances wide-body jetliner plans as it navigates trade barriers

By Lisa Barrington and Giulia Segreti

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - China's COMAC signed deals with two Western suppliers for a planned twin-aisle plane at the Paris Airshow this week, signalling it still intends to use foreign parts on its jets despite U.S. moves to restrict component exports.

In its trade war with Beijing, Washington this month restricted exports to China of some U.S.-made aerospace parts, including engines that COMAC uses on its C919 narrow-body and C909 regional jets, sources told Reuters.

That underscores a key vulnerability of China's jet-building programme, where major elements of the designs use foreign parts.

State-owned COMAC wants to compete internationally against Airbus AIR.PA and Boeing BA.N, and is seeking customers abroad and ramping up production. But its jets currently operate largely within China and lack certification from key foreign regulators in Europe and the United States.

In addition to COMAC's two planes already in commercial operation, the C919 and C909, the firm is designing a C929 wide-body aircraft to take on the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

U.S. manufacturer Crane Aerospace & Electronics CR.N said at the Paris Airshow that it would supply the C929's door signal system, which COMAC confirmed. A Crane door signal system is used on the C919.

COMAC said it also signed a memorandum of understanding with French aerospace firm Safran SAF.PA for the C929, which an industry source said covered systems including braking control, tyre pressure, oxygen and icing detection.

Safran, a partner of GE GE.N on the CFM engines used on the C919, did not disclose details of the agreement.

Flag carrier Air China 601111.SS will be the first customer for the C929, designed to seat 282 to 440 people, the planemaker said in November.

In a bid to break into foreign markets, COMAC has been focussing on Southeast Asia. It has sold C909s to airlines in Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, whose governments permit their airlines to operate Chinese-certified planes.

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A Group CAPI.KL, the owner of Malaysia-based AirAsia, said he was still talking with COMAC about a potential order for C919s, though trade tensions between China and the U.S. remain a possible obstacle.

Europe's aviation regulator said in April that it needed between three and six years to certify the C919.

MAKING FRIENDS

Beijing is investing huge sums in developing a home-grown aerospace industry, with the long-term aim to steadily replace foreign-made parts.

China has had a civil commercial jet engine, the CJ-1000, in the works for many years, with the aim of replacing the LEAP-1C engine that powers the C919.

Little is known about the engine, though footage appeared on Chinese social media in early 2023 of what appeared to be a CJ-1000 engine being tested on a Chinese military transport aircraft.

At the Paris Airshow, COMAC displayed its expanding range of plane models, including a business jet version of the C909, which industry sources expect to enter service soon.

There was no trace of the larger long-haul C939 plane that COMAC has said it intends to develop.

At this year's show, the COMAC display was one of 76 by companies from China, the world's second-largest aviation market, more than double the number in 2023.

Smaller Chinese firms, some making their first visit to the show, said they recognised the importance of showcasing their products to tap the high-spending European market.

"In China, we have a good reputation, but we now want to develop a global market. We are here because we think it's a good moment," said first-time exhibitor Ojay Yuan, vice president of Shenzhen-based machine tooling supplier Depu CNC.

"It's not a very good moment (to sell) to the U.S., given the tariffs, so we prefer to work with Europe," he said.

Shanghai-based HanDao Tech also made its Paris debut. Set up in 2021, the group manufactures engine systems and components for the aerospace and gas turbine industry.

"We already supply hardware for bigger companies. But we need to build a connection with this world, to show our products, make friends and find the best opportunities," its Chairman and CEO Patrick Wang said.