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The first plane produced by a Chinese government initiative has been unveiled.
The plane, unveiled on Monday in Shanghai, is expected to compete in the market for large passenger jetliners.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) showed off its twin-engine C919 in a ceremony attended by some 4,000 government officials and other guests at a hangar near the Pudong International Airport.
China’s fast growing aviation market is dependent on European consortium Airbus and Boeing of the United States.
The ruling Communist Party wants to claw back some of the commercial benefits that flow to foreign suppliers.
According to a COMAC statement, the company already has orders for 517 of the new planes, and 10 of that number was ordered by Thailand’s City Airways.