The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) showed off its twin-engine C919 in a ceremony on Monday attended by some 4,000 government officials and other guests at a hangar near the Pudong International Airport.
China's aviation market is growing fast but relies on Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
The ruling Communist Party wants to claw back some of the commercial benefits that flow to foreign suppliers.
Boeing and Airbus
For China, the plane represents at least seven years of efforts in a state-mandated drive to reduce dependence on European consortium Airbus and Boeing of the United States, and even compete against them.
"China's air transport industry cannot completely rely on imports. A great nation must have its own large commercial aircraft," the country's civil aviation chief Li Jiaxiang told an audience of government and industry officials.
A small truck towed the 39-metre long plane - painted white with a green tail - out of a cavernous building decorated with an enormous Chinese flag into the sunlight as project workers marched alongside, an AFP news agency journalist saw.
"The roll out of the first C919 aircraft marks a significant milestone in the development of China's first indigenous aircraft," COMAC chairman Jin Zhuanglong told the ceremony.
The aircraft, which has a range of up to 5,555 kilometres, will make its first test flight in 2016, he said - meaning that it will miss the original deadline of this year.
Test flights
The 78-90 seat ARJ is still undergoing test flights and lacks the crucial certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration that would enable it to fly in US skies.
The Chinese company also plans a wide body plane, the C929, in cooperation with Russia's United Aircraft Corp., and speculation is mounting China will create a new aero-engine entity to try to produce the powerful jets needed for large civil aircraft.
China is expected to add 6,330 new aircraft worth $950bn to its commercial fleet by 2034, Boeing stimates.
The single-aisle C919 targets the lucrative segment dominated by Boeing's 737 and the Airbus A320.
"Research and manufacturing of a big plane is complex," said China's Vice Premier Ma Kai, the highest government leader attending the ceremony. "There is still a long way to go to commercial operation."
Source: Bloom Gist and Agencies
