July 6, 2022
BEIJING, China—In one of the largest aviation deals in history, Chinese airlines purchased 292 Airbus A320 passenger jets worth $37 billion. Beijing stated it’s “natural” for the US to “feel sour” after ditching Boeing.
Chinese state-run media company, The Global Times, said of Boeing and Airbus: “Judging from the performance of these two companies in the global market, since 2019, Airbus has been way ahead of Boeing in terms of competing for passenger plane orders and market share.”
It continued: “On the one hand, this is partly due to safety concerns as flights operated by Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have still largely not resumed in various countries. On the other, the disruptions in the US supply chain have seriously affected Boeing’s delivery capacity.”
“On the one hand, this is partly due to safety concerns as flights operated by Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have still largely not resumed in various countries. On the other, the disruptions in the US supply chain have seriously affected Boeing’s delivery capacity,” wrote The Global Times.
China’s decision to go with Europe’s Airbus is a huge economic blow to Boeing and thousands of American jobs counting on China’s massive order. Many believe China intentionally went with Airbus to spite the Biden administration.
“It is disappointing that geopolitical differences continued to constrain US aircraft exports,” a Boeing spokesperson told Bloomberg.
“China is not the one to blame,” wrote The Global Times.
The United States and China have been engaged in a trade war since 2016. The Trump administration imposed widespread tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018, many of which are still in place, according to Insider.
More than two-thirds of Chinese imports to the US were subject to tariffs of up to 25%. The Biden administration is considering lifting a “modest” number of trade tariffs in the short-term, possibly spooked by China’s decision not to go with Boeing.
Feature Screenshot via CGTN