BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia on May 22 established a joint venture to develop a long-haul jet to challenge Boeing and Airbus.
The state-owned plane maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and United Aircraft Corp of Russia established the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation Limited. The 50-50 joint venture is based in Shanghai's free trade zone in Pudong.
The firms have carried out three-year preliminary studies on the project and decided the designing concept of the jet, said He Dongfeng, general manager with COMAC.
The wide-body jet will seat 280 and have a range of up to 12,000 kilometers. The jet will be assembled in Shanghai.
The new firm said it will begin designing the jet and choosing suppliers.
A model of the wide-body jet made its debut at China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in south Guangdong Province on November 2, 2016.
The C919, China's first domestically-developed narrow-body jet made its maiden flight at Pudong International Airport on May 5. (Shanghai Daily)
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