Well, I meant when they could make commercial aircraft sufficiently capable that they needed to buy nothing from Boeing, apparently the only hard good the US makes the Chinese need right now.
(And there is no doubt that at that point the domestic Chinese airlines will be encouraged to buy Chinese.)
China manufactures its own military planes in a reasonably comprehensive spectrum (I don’t believe Brazil does), so it’s not that far away.
However, in the wake of joint ventures with the United States and Europe in the area of civilian aircraft (particularly the MD-80 and MD-90 at Shanghai Aircraft Industries Corp. (SAIC)) the general level of Chinese aircraft workmanship has apparently risen. Because Western commercial standards are more stringent than previous Chinese specifications, the overall level of Chinese quality control has improved. Chinese combat aircraft are now reported to have a much smoother surfaces than before, suggesting a flow of personnel and expertise from civilian to military production lines.
