President Donald Trump has clipped the wings of Chinese aircraft company COMAC by halting the sale of critical engines, avionics and other necessities for its flagship C919 single-aisle airliner. After years of delay, the aircraft went into service in 2023 and has been ordered by most major Chinese airlines. COMAC also wants to certify the plane in the rest of the world and compete with Boeing and Airbus and the New York Times says Trump imposed the restrictions to protect Boeing. The restrictions also came shortly after China stopped exports of critical minerals to the U.S.
The C919 is now a relic of an earlier time when the U.S. and China were expanding trade opportunities. Aerospace companies, particularly engine makers, weren’t keen on sharing their tech with China, but they were willing to sell them finished products. The result was about 40% of the plane consists of parts and components made in the U.S. and other Western countries. Of those, the engines, made by LEAP International, a 50-50 partnership between GE and France’s Safran, are the most critical. China has not yet built a modern efficient airliner engine.
Some analysts claim the C919 owes a lot more than engines and panel to Western know-how. “Almost the entire makeup of the C919 is stolen technology from numerous aviation and technology industries from around the world,” said William R. Evanina, a former director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said before Congress a few years ago. A Chinese official called the export restrictions “a malicious blockade and suppression of China” and said his country would fight them.
