The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) recently signed an agreement to recognize each other’s regulatory systems on aviation products with respect to design, production, and airworthiness.
The agreement was part of the U.S.–China Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement signed in 2005 and is largely symbolic. Since 2005, CAAC has adopted most of the FAA’s regulations, and the two nations have been cooperating on aviation issues.
“This is diplomatically important,” industry analyst Richard Aboulafia said. “It shows that the U.S. takes China’s aviation industry seriously and that it regards their civil aviation officials as reliable partners.”
The agreement also will make it easier for American companies to sell products in China. For the past two years, China has been one of the world’s largest aircraft buyer.
China could see benefit from having faster approval of its aviation products.
Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China has developed a single-aisle jet that will compete against Boeing and Europe’s Airbus. Its C919 was first tested in May and is pending approval from regulators.
Its ARJ21 received approval for mass production in July.
The FAA also recently signed similar agreements with Transport Canada Civil Aviation and the European Aviation Safety Agency.