China's government has told airlines to stop taking delivery of Boeing jets as it squares off with the U.S. in a tariff-driven trade war. Bloomberg first reported the decision by Beijing, which also includes stopping the import of parts and supplies from U.S. aviation companies. Other media are citing Bloomberg's report but haven't been able to immediately corroborate the account, which is based on comments from unnamed sources. However, President Donald Trump appeared to confirm the report in a Truth Social post. "Interestingly, they just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will 'not take possession' of fully committed to aircraft," the president wrote.
How long does this manic state of affairs go on? The Chinese technology is not hindered by tort litigation and other legalistic encumbrances that push prices to the sky for parts and service. They can do it much, much cheaper and faster than the western world can. If we drag this out half a decade or so the western world will find itself with an obsolete aviation industry and no-one interested in our products. Western population, as wealthy as it is will simply not be able to compete with much cheaper and comparably or better technology from Asia. Dump the idiotic tariffs now and get back to an equitable global marketplace before it’s too late.
In a world with a shortage of commercial airliners, this hurts China more than it hurts the US or Boeing. This is akin to shooting yourself in the foot to hurt someone else. But it makes for good headlines. Boeing will happily give those planes to some other airline while the Chinese throw their fit.
Keep the tariffs. If the Communist Chinese can build a better and cheaper airplane then all the airlines will dump the Boeings, Airbusses, Canadiars, and Embriars and buy their planes.
The U.S. is basically handing China the keys to the future of commercial aviation, while undercutting its own export engine and credibility. The longer this drags on, the more permanent the damage becomes. Boeing isn’t just selling jets to China; it’s building them with Chinese parts, rudders, tail sections, wing panels, even final paint and interiors at Zhoushan. At this point, China’s got Boeing by the cojones. These tariffs on China make no sense, especially if the goal is to protect U.S. manufacturing–Boeing.
Wrong as you can be. Other countries will be thrilled to get their airplanes earlier than anticipated. The only reason that work was being done in China with those Chinese parts is because the Chinese demanded it in return for the orders. China is posturing - and they’ll lose.
China did demand local production, but that’s exactly why they now have leverage. They supply key parts, rudders, tail sections, fuselage components and to handle final delivery work in Zhoushan.
If they cut off those parts or stall certifications, Boeing can’t just reshuffle orders. Other countries may be ready to receive planes, but Boeing has to finish building them first. This isn’t just posturing it’s real supply chain pressure.
@Just_pilot: Just to clarify for you, the Zhoushan plant isn’t some throwaway side gig, it’s where Boeing finishes off 737 MAX jets for Chinese airlines. That includes painting, interiors, and getting them ready for delivery. They also do maintenance and repair work there. And that’s just part of the picture, Boeing has a composite parts facility in Tianjin and a training center in Shanghai too. But with the current U.S.–China tensions, China has hit pause on accepting Boeing jets, which puts all that at risk.
UPDATE: ​For anyone still brushing this off, consider the scale. Boeing Tianjin Composites (BTC), established in 1999, has produced over 1.8 million components for all of Boeing’s in-production commercial aircraft, such as the 737 MAX, 777, and 787. The facility recently expanded to a total floor area of 58,000 square meters (624,000 square feet), effectively doubling its production capacity. ​Flight Global+1JEC Composites+1Aviation Week
Additionally, the Zhoushan Completion and Delivery Center, a joint venture between Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), handles final assembly tasks for 737 MAX aircraft, including interior installations, painting, and delivery preparations for Chinese airline customers. At full capacity, this facility employs around 300 staff members.
These facilities are integral to Boeing’s global supply chain, not only in terms of production capacity but also due to their specialized roles in the final stages of aircraft completion. If China stalls parts, blocks certifications, or holds deliveries, it’s not just China-bound orders that are affected, Boeing’s entire production tempo could be disrupted. This is not merely a diplomatic gesture; it represents a strategic lever with substantial operational consequences.
Your “American” made Boeing 787 has parts from the UK, France, Canada, Japan, and Italy. All will be subject to tariffs which will make the airplane uncompetitively expensive going forward. So the Tariffs will ruin the American aerospace industry a sector which has a huge trade surplus with the rest of the world. This seems an odd way to Make America Great Again…
It’s always difficult to get at the truth when dealing with communist regimes. China extracts concessions (intellectual property, etc) from western companies just to gain access to their market; it’s never been a level playing field. I don’t know how the aviation industry will sort itself out, but in the end China needs western markets far more than we need theirs. Tariff free sales of Chinese goods on large shipping platforms (Amazon, etc) are about hit the skids.
It seems like if China can just cut off parts to key components that have strategic and military value as well as control things like pharmaceuticals we might want to consider having domestic capability to produce those or at least partner with true allies. There will be some pain associated with this and it might take years, but having less dependance on a foreign power that is not aligned with our interests seems like a good longterm strategy.
There’s a much more intelligent way to do this, with targeted tariffs implemented gradually. The current approach of broad-based tariffs slapped on virtually every country in the world is only going to cause chaos and economic damage. Long term it damages the faith and trust in the United States as a trading partner and as a safe place to park reserves. We already saw that starting to happen in the bond markets, and it was enough to cause Trump to temporarily back off.
To flyingfireman and Raf: the goal of these tariffs is to get manufacturers to bring their production back to the US. Some things will be more expensive for a while, but Boeing has to be seriously considering making those parts here in the future.
grins.