The sky is the limit: China’s rise as a transportation superpower challenges the EU

This policy brief explores China's quest to become a global transportation power and its implications for the EU and European companies. It delves into Beijing's strategy to replicate its high-speed rail (HSR) success in commercial aerospace, focusing on COMAC’s C919 project. China replicates its HSR playbook based on boosting indigenous innovation supported by state intervention and technology transfer, including from European firms. Despite initial progress, the complex nature of the aerospace industry, geopolitical tensions and a fundamentally different market outlook mean that success may be more elusive.

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