Zhang Yanzhong, who played a leading role in developing the C919 jet, warned there was a real risk of being cut off from supply chains.
3-MIN READ3-MINStephen Chenin BeijingPublished: 6:00pm, 11 May 2026A leading Chinese aviation engineer has set out a detailed blueprint for building a fully self-sufficient supply chain for large passenger jets.
The paper, written by Zhang Yanzhong, a senior academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the former chief scientist of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, acknowledged there was a very real risk that the country could be cut off entirely from components made in the West.
Known as the “father of China’s large aircraft” for his decades of work on the Y-20, a military transport plane, and the C919 passenger jet, Zhang is one of the most authoritative voices in the country’s aviation establishment.
Besides the engine, the auxiliary power unit is supplied by America’s Honeywell and the shell around the engine by Nexcelle. The plane also uses avionics designed and tested by GE and its joint ventures; communication and navigation subsystems from Collins Aerospace and an air data system from Honeywell, according to Zhang.
The main flight controls and autopilot also receive “technical guidance” from Honeywell, which also supplies the brakes; the actuators that move the control surfaces and fuel and hydraulics equipment come from Parker Hannifin and the high-lift system comes from Moog.
