In a major escalation of trade tensions between China and the United States, Beijing has instructed its carriers to halt the delivery of aircraft from American aerospace giant Boeing, a report stated on Tuesday.
Beijing also instructed its carriers to halt the purchase of aircraft-related equipment and components from US firms.
The development, first reported by Bloomberg News, follows escalating tensions in the trade conflict between Beijing and the US, which was triggered by Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs.’
Since President Donald Trump came into office in January, the world’s two largest economies have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war, with the US now levying tariffs of up to 145 per cent on Chinese imports.
Beijing, too, responded to what they called illegal “bullying” by Washington and has slapped retaliatory taxes of 125 per cent on US imports, ruling out further increases as worthless.
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The most recent Chinese government mandate of suspending deliveries by Boeing, which involves state-owned as well as private airlines, is also interpreted as a component of Beijing’s overall strategy to counter the US tariffs.
The blocking of Boeing deliveries may have significant implications for both the Chinese aviation sector and the US aerospace industry giant.
On Tuesday, China is “tearing down walls” and expanding its circle of trading partners, “shaking hands” instead of “shaking fists”, its foreign ministry said.
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“In the face of external uncertainties, China will insist on shaking hands rather than shaking fists, tearing down walls instead of building barriers, connecting instead of decoupling,” Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson, told a press briefing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization has warned that the high-stakes Sino-U.S. trade row could cut the shipment of goods between the two economies by as much as 80% and severely hurt global growth.
