China and Russia Monday completed the formal registration of a joint venture to build a wide-body jet, kick-starting full-scale development of a program aimed at competing with market leaders Boeing and Airbus. State plane makers Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) and Russia's United Aircraft Corp said at a ceremony in Shanghai the venture would aim to build a "competitive long range wide-body commercial aircraft". The announcement comes just weeks after COMAC successfully completed the maiden flight of its C919, China's first home-grown narrow-body passenger jet. COMAC President Jin Zhuanglong said the two firms had decided to hold the establishment ceremony after the C919's flight. "This program is aimed at fulfilling future market demand," he told reporters. "Our two countries, our two firms ... have created this joint venture to undertake responsibilities such as organization, research, management and implementation."<br/>
general
Two words underpin Boeing's decision to launch a US trade complaint against Bombardier, which plunged it into a row with Canada last week: "Never again". Allegations that the Canadian firm dumped newly designed CSeries passenger jets in the United States at a steep loss have threatened a sale of F/A-18 warplanes to Ottawa, sending Boeing scrambling to save the deal. Some analysts say Boeing carelessly put at risk billions of dollars of defense work or pandered to growing protectionism. But decades after Boeing failed to prevent European upstart Airbus gaining momentum with early victories in the United States, people familiar with the company say the strategic importance of defending its core passenger jet business outweighs the diplomatic storm. US industry experts say Boeing and other jetmakers at the time did not take the European consortium seriously enough and allowed their future nemesis to poach US airlines from 1978. Again after the September 2001 attacks in the United States, when Boeing slashed production, Airbus filled the vacuum, building up market share and never looking back. For years Boeing insiders have rued that decision, even while battling Airbus at the WTO over mutual accusations of unfair subsidies.<br/>