Namely "The Trump administration has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines." Don't tell me I didn't warn. I rest my case.
P.S. No, Russia is not going to sell her PD-14 to China, she needs them for REAL competitor to Boeing and Airbus--MC-21.
And when they see this flying yesterday from Irkutsk to Moscow non-stop for final certs:
Or this, also flying beautifully (ahem...):
Both being fully Russian aircraft which are powered by state-of-the-art PD-8, PD-14 and use Russian avionics, composites et al, Chinese know that PD-35 is coming and is not far away. You all remember how joint Russian-Chinese wide body aircraft CR-929 became C-929, because Russians didn't like how Chinese side viewed profits share. Now Chinese know that Russia fully recovered her commercial aircraft mojo and can do it all completely on her own. And suddenly, Russians are also practical and very delicate people who know that after all, it is Russia which is not only second (after the US) nation in the world capable totally out of own resources build state-of-the-art aircraft, but also the nation which tied all West's resources which otherwise would have been thrown against China. Comrade Xi is very sincere when stating today:
Translation:BEIJING, May 9 – RIA Novosti.Russia and China must be true friends, tempered like steel, said Chinese President Xi Jinping."We must maintain friendship from generation to generation and be true friends, tempered like steel," the Chinese Foreign Ministry quotes the Chinese leader as saying during a meeting with journalists after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Translation:Moscow.May 8. INTERFAX - Russia and China intend to continue cooperation on the creation of a long-range wide-body aircraft; it has not stopped, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told Interfax.Answering a question about whether Russia could return to cooperation with China on the creation of a wide-body aircraft, he said: "Maybe we have not stopped it (cooperation - IF)."... In August 2022, the UAC management reported that work on the CR929 was continuing, but given the consequences of the pandemic and the introduction of sanctions against Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, the format of participation in the project would have to be "updated."Manturov then clarified that Russia would participate as a supplier of units and components for the aircraft; in May last year, he confirmed Russia's readiness to participate in the project "based on a contractor agreement."At the same time, in February of this year, the joint venture Engineering Center for the CR929 Program LLC, established by CRAIC in 2019 for the project to develop the CR929 long-range passenger aircraft, filed an application for liquidation of the legal entity.The company is currently undergoing the relevant procedures.
Go figure, right? Well, there is nothing to figure here, actually. China knows that sanctions are coming and no amount of maneuvering can save both Comac-919 powered by US-French LEAP engines and, let alone, perspective "Chinese" C-929 which was planned as the aircraft (after letter "R" disappeared) which could be remotorized on the variety of the American and Rolls-Royce engines. And no, world-class competitive high bypass ratio Chinese engines are not coming any time soon. And here is this trick--any commercial aircraft Russia produces can be exported anywhere, because they are all Russian-manufactured. The only thing the US can do is to try blackmail potential buyers, but that's for other time to discuss--Boeing and Airbus have all reasons to sweat about MC-21. China, however, is pinned down now to its, however large, internal market and IS under the Sword of Damocles of not quite adequate POTUS who may, in the last ditch attempts to stop Chinese economic juggernaut, simply sanction jet engines and that will be it for Chinese attempt not only at competition abroad, but even domestically. So, enter PD-14 and PD-35 and Russian made subsystems from avionics to APU, to composites. Make your own conclusions. As I stated--Russians are very delicate people, apart from being very practical, like Chinese.
