China has proven that even a state-driven economy fosters many limitations and blind spots. State-driven economies also sport the ability to rapidly get things done. Using the power of the state, China has the ability to use its predatory economic system to ramp up production at record speed. It could be argued that it is best not to over or under-estimate China.
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| China Has A Predatory Economic System Able To Ramp Up Production |
A recent and glaring example of how such an economic system can ramp up production is visible in how China has rapidly positioned itself as the world's low-price Electric Vehicle producer. While high tariffs and other barriers may slow the sales of China's EVs in many developed countries, it is likely they will sell well in many markets. In just a few years China has overtaken Tesla and become the world's low-cost EV producer. Now it is poised to crush Tesla by introducing new improvements. BYD, China's largest EV producer has just announced it can, in only 5 minutes, now charge a battery to 60%.
When we choose to ignore what is occurring we should expect to be surprised at some point. This issue is front and center in the aviation industry. Few people are paying attention to the fact that China is preparing to move up the manufacturing food chain and challenge Western aerospace giants like Boeing and Airbus. Following the commercial entry of the C919. China set its sights on developing a wide-body aircraft with a range of up to 12,000 kilometers.
The C929 started in 2015 when Comac partnered with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to develop a new aircraft. China was to bear the full development costs, and Russia agreed to provide technical support. China's large-scale manufacturing expertise and supply chain management coupled with Russia's strengths in materials, aerodynamics, and engine technology appeared to be a good match. The final assembly line was to be based in China, with the goal of targeting sales in China, Russia, and the broader Asian region. In 2022, Russia withdrew from the project after failing to meet its commitments and China continued on its own.
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| Sales of Chinese Aircraft Are Gaining Traction |
Little noticed or intentionally ignored by much of the Western world, and especially America, is that sales of the C909 and the C919 are gaining traction. One video explores the rise of China’s aerospace industry - it claims the overlooked C909, the C919, and now, the ultra-long-haul wide-body C939 are game changers. It then questions what this means for Boeing, Airbus, and $6 trillion of future aircraft sales. But, it doesn't stop there, above, embedded in the text is a link to a video touting the C929, here is another link to a video diving into even a larger Chinese aircraft, the COMAC C939. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynik56MdU-I
As for the C929, while many people chose to ignore this, that did not halt its development, the C929 is now a reality it is a long-range wide-body aircraft entirely developed by China. With a capacity of 280 passengers. The C929 puts China in a position to reshape the aviation global landscape, the plane is designed to compete directly with the Boeing 787 and the Airbus 350. How contentious will the competition be going forward? It seems that the US has already weighed in and warned Ireland not to buy China's C919 aircraft, go to, https://youtu.be/eBCg7taEsHM?t=1409
Adding
to the allure of these Chinese aircraft are a slew of avionic upgrades
and improvements. These are coupled with far lower prices due to China's
predatory economic system. Telling companies and even countries not to buy Chinese aircraft most likely will not be enough. To all the skeptics who immediately scream that many people have no intention and would never fly in a Chinese-made aircraft, it doesn't matter. Simply put, other people will fly in them.
The fact China is making great strides in creating a threat to the main Western aviation industry duopoly. We should not forget years ago the Chinese went into space. Just because China cranks out a lot of cheap goods for consumers does not mean they are low-tech. When it comes to economic dominance, they are playing the long game.
This article is not meant to counter the notion that China is on the edge of economic collapse. Its planned economy has a history of major blunders. China remains in some ways a paper tiger, often overestimated, however, as long as its people remain under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and its predatory economic system, China will remain a rival and global power.
FOOTNOTE: This article dovetails with several others that I have written. China has exported low-cost goods to the world using the profits from these sales to target and subsidize markets aimed at expanding key industries. This underscores the need for tariffs. Below are the links to some of these articles.
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2021/11/as-railroads-grow-in-importance-china.html
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2021/10/china-housing-market-is-on-life-support.html
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2024/10/tariffs-are-way-of-putting-finger-on.html
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2024/05/chinese-evs-are-piling-up-and-blocking.html
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2023/09/subsidies-corrupt-economies-china.html
https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2023/02/chinas-first-large-homegrown-airliner.html
(Republishing this article is permitted with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)
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