I think the C919 is a good example of the limits of the current Chinese political system. All the hard parts are 100% Western technology and yet it is still effectively obsolete on its first day of revenue service. I don't think it is a "bad" airplane in that it should be able transport passengers with a acceptable level of safety between domestic airports and it is probably certifiable by Western regulators, but it will never be economically viable. Even if the airplane was sold at a huge discount the life cycle costs, high CASM, and likely low OTP, make it unviable.
Once again the failure of a top down politically command driven system has demonstrated the superiority of a rules based open and free society in creating innovation. Capitalism has plenty of problems but the Chinese system is worse in every way.