Here is where some people will have difficulty grasping the issue.
China has ordered its airlines to halt all jet orders from American manufacturer Boeing in response to President Trump hitting the country with tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods, according to a report. Beijing has additionally told Chinese carriers to not purchase any aircraft-related equipment from American companies, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The order comes after China imposed a 125% tariff on American goods over the weekend, which on its own would have doubled the cost of US-made aircraft and parts, Bloomberg reported. Boeing shares dipped 3% in premarket trading Tuesday over the pause in shipments to China, which the company views as one of its biggest growth markets despite being dominated by rival Airbus.
It would have been absolutely naive to think that Trump would scare China, China can cause the US a tremendous economic pain. But here is the thing--commercial airspace is where China is very vulnerable and depends very much on the West's technology. It is true--Chinese airlines prefer Airbus planes but as I pointed many times--look at what is considered nominally "Chinese" C919:
Immediately, the issue of LEAP (France-US) engines maybe brought to bear by the US and that can create a serious obstacle for C919 which IS needed considering a gigantic scale of Chinese air travel market. If you think, however, that everything is in the clear with Airbus, well ... What if I tell you that even A320 NEO flies on either LEAP or Pratt and Whitney engines--all could be immediately sanctioned even for Airbus. So, this one is not easily resolved. But China had no other option but to try hit the US via Boeing. So, we have to wait and see where it all goes, because this one is not about consumer goods--it is about strategic industry, maybe top 2-3 which defines a true superpowerdom.
