Boeing CEO Jim McNerney comment on China's C919

If you're sitting on a panel in 10 years talking about a Chinese participation in the manufacturing of airplanes, what kinds of things do you think you'll be saying regarding technical proficiency, marketing success, product design globally?

I think we'll be saying that technically, they can do it. I don't know if it's 10 years or 15 years, but -- I would still guess at that stage, though, that customer acceptance will still be out in front of them.

Because when you build these machines, the issue is rarely, can you build it? The issue is, will the company stand behind it for 25 years? And will the company have the wherewithal to evolve derivatives the next fleet of airplanes, and all the services that come with selling these things?

I mean, when you look at a typical airplane and you sell it to somebody, the engine is rebuilt a couple of times; the airplane is rebuilt a couple of times; there's improvements that are spiraled in while you do that. And so a customer needs to see an enterprise that will not only serve them but will have the wherewithal to keep improving the product. And that is what the Chinese will have to eventually overcome before they sell a lot of these to a lot of customers.

But technically, they do a lot of the components today. They're learning how to assemble them in Tianjin right now. They've got to overcome the Shanghai experience in the late '80s, in terms of customer perception. But technically, 10 to 15 years; customer acceptance a little bit beyond that. That would be their challenge.