Communist China Ratchets Up Pressure on Trump Administration by Blocking Delivery of New Boeing Jets
Beijing continues its retaliations against the Trump administration’s trade war tariffs, dealing a blow to the American aerospace giant’s access to the second-largest aviation market in the world.
The trade war ticked up another notch on Tuesday after Communist China ordered its domestic airlines to stop accepting deliveries of jets from America-based Boeing.
The Chinese airlines were also told to stop buying plane parts and other components from companies in America, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Boeing was due to ship nearly ten of their 737 Max aircrafts to China Southern Airlines, Air China, and Xiamen Airlines. Some of those aircraft may still be delivered since payment and delivery paperwork were already completed.
China was the first nation to ground 737 Max aircrafts in 2019 following a pair of deadly crashes, and previous trade disputes with the Biden and first Trump administrations led to a shift in the country ordering from European-based Airbus SE.
In pre-market trading on Tuesday, Boeing’s shares dropped 3 percent to $154.40 per share.
The ban extends to spare parts from the American manufacturer, a move that could virtually cripple Chinese carriers reliant on Boeing jets for fleets already in service. Exports sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had a similar effect on carriers there dependent on Boeing and other western suppliers such as Airbus.
The move by Chinese officials comes after they recently raised reciprocal tariffs against America to 125 percent. The levy was a direct response to a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods issued by the Trump Administration.
“There are no winners in a trade war, and going against the world will only lead to self-isolation.” China’s president, Xi Jinping, said during a meeting with the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, on Friday. “For over 70 years, China’s development has relied on self-reliance and hard work — never on handouts from others, and it is not afraid of any unjust suppression,” he added according to a report from State-run media outlet CCTV.
Chinese government representatives said the country would not increase its tariffs any further, regardless of any additional measures from Mr. Trump.
“Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” the Chinese Finance Ministry said in a statement. “With tariff rates at the current level, there is no longer a market for U.S. goods imported into China.”
“If the U.S. government continues to increase tariffs on China, Beijing will ignore,” the statement said.
