Comac has been making airplanes for years, but until now has been a minor player. The aircraft market for aircraft with more than 100 seats is divided between Airbus and Boeing. The European manufacturer Airbus in particular has been very active in the Chinese market in recent years because Boeing was more affected by trade tensions between China and the United States and because the American manufacturer had to ground the 737 MAX aircraft for a long time after two crashes with that type of aircraft.
Comac has been developing the C919 since 2008 and presented the first prototype of the device in 2015. Although the C919 is made in China, manufacturer Comac is dependent on Western companies for many parts, such as the American General Electric and Honeywell and the French Safran.