235 orders for homegrown C919 passenger plane

China's homegrown C919 large passenger plane has so far received 235 orders from both home and abroad, the plane's chief designer said Monday.

Wu Guanghui, deputy general manager of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC), said the orders are mostly from domestic users, but there are some from the United States and southeast Asian countries.

Wu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body, said development for the jet is under way, and its first test flight is scheduled for 2014.

Wu said C919, China's first homegrown single-aisle passenger jet, would be powered in the initial stage by advanced LEAP-X1C engines that are installed in Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

The engine, jointly developed by General Electric Company and Safran, could lower fuel consumption by 13 percent to 15 percent and cut emissions by 50 percent, according to Wu.

He disclosed that China has also designed an engine for the plane, coded "Yangtze 1000," which is undergoing certification in Shanghai.

"There will be a choice of two engines for the C919 in the future, and the plane will definitely have a 'Chinese heart'," Wu said.