U.S. Suspends Some Aerospace Technology Exports To China
NEW DELHI—The U.S. has suspended sales of aircraft technologies to China for use by state-owned commercial aircraft manufacturer Comac, industry sources say. The decision appears to have come in response to China’s restriction on exports of critical minerals to the U.S. and was first reported by The New York Times.
NEW DELHI—The U.S. has suspended sales of aircraft technologies to China for use by state-owned commercial aircraft manufacturer Comac, industry sources say. The decision appears to have come in response to China’s restriction on exports of critical minerals to the U.S. and was first reported by The New York Times.
The decision is part of a wider move that covers “critical U.S technologies.” It is unclear for how long it will be upheld and whether it could be a bargaining chip for a broader settlement of the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.
China and the U.S. temporarily reduced many of their tariffs on May 12 in an effort to deescalate.
In partnership with some Western companies, Comac has started to develop domestic capabilities to build C919 components, such as the landing gear, but critical systems like the CFM International Leap-1C engines and avionics made by Honeywell, among others, are still imported from the U.S.
None of the companies affected commented on the matter. Exports of Leap-1As and -1Bs powering A320neos and Boeing 737 MAXs operated by Chinese airlines and other components and spares for the Western narrowbodies flying in the country are not affected.
The Aero Engine Corp. of China is developing the CJ-1000A engine that will eventually be an alternative powerplant for the C919, but it will be years until that will become available.
Eighteen C919s are in service with China’s three state-owned carriers: China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China. China state media Xinhua stated that the C919s have so far carried more than two million passengers across 24 routes. China Eastern alone clocked 28,000 hr. of C919 operations in 11,400 commercial flights. China celebrated the second anniversary of the Comac C919 commercial service on May 28.
Industry sources say that Comac has built up a significant level of stock engines and spares that would allow the manufacturer to continue building and delivering C919s for the time being. But the exact amount that Comac can burn off is unclear.
