China’s COMAC soars, helped by state-backed funding

HONG KONG — China and Japan both officially kicked off their passenger jet projects in 2008. So why, 15 years and millions of dollars later, is only one of them in the air?

The launch in May of scheduled commercial passenger services by the C919 passenger jet was a milestone for its developer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), in its bid to challenge the long-standing global duopoly of American and European manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.