China Unveils Its First Commercial Jet To Compete With Boeing and Airbus

By Hunter Wallace

Some of you might be wondering: why doesn’t China follow David Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage and specialize in the production of rice or Nike tennis shoes?

Why aren’t the Chinese content to engage in free trade with the EU and US – with whom they enjoy large trade surpluses – and keep buying their commercial aircraft? Why is the Chinese state subsidizing the creation of a commercial aircraft industry to compete with Boeing and Airbus?

“China unveiled its first passenger jet Monday, part of an effort to compete in the lucrative commercial aircraft business now dominated by Boeing and Airbus.

The single-aisle, twin-engine C919 was developed by the state-run Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac. The jet was shown to a large crowd of government dignitaries in a hangar at an assembly plant outside Shanghai, near Pudong International Airport.

“A great nation must have its own large commercial aircraft,” China’s civil aviation chief, Li Jiaxiang, is quoted as saying by the BBC.

“China’s air transport industry cannot completely rely on imports,” he told the crowd. …”

And so it was with steel, consumer electronics, and semiconductors. Now the same story is about to repeat itself with aircraft. The American ideal is that a great nation must have negro equality and gay marriage. BTW, Trump’s new book “Crippled America” comes out today.