US-China tensions hit COMAC, Boeing

COMAC (Shanghai Pudong) is struggling to stick to its planned certification timeline for the C919 due to American restrictions on parts’ exports to China, Reuters has reported.

The Chinese state-owned manufacturer planned to certify its narrowbody jet and deliver the first unit to China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) by the end of the year. However, the US Department of Defence’s (DOD) designation of COMAC as a military end-user has made it much more burdensome for US companies to secure export licences. Sources said that while suppliers are now being issued licences, the bottleneck continues to affect the C919’s certification and production ramp-up.

The manufacturer did not display the aircraft during the recently ended Zhuhai Air Show, China’s largest aerospace trade fair.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of a brewing geopolitical dispute, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo criticised the Beijing government for allegedly blocking Chinese airlines from ordering “tens of billions of dollars” worth of Boeing aircraft. China pledged to increase imports from the United States, including aircraft, in the 2020 trade agreement signed under the previous administration of President Donald Trump. Raimondo said Beijing was in violation of the agreement by holding up the potential Boeing orders.

“The Chinese need to play by the rules. We need to hold their feet to the fire and hold them accountable,” she said.