As trade tensions intensify between China and the United States, the Chinese government has reportedly instructed domestic airlines to stop accepting Boeing aircraft, Bloomberg News reported.
The directive also includes halting purchases of airplane parts and other aviation components from American companies, Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the matter as saying.
Boeing has declined to comment on the report. Its stock dropped $2.59, or 1.6%, to $156.74 during morning trading following the news.
The move follows China’s decision to raise tariffs on US imports to 125%, in a tit-for-tat response to similar tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Chinese goods. In some cases, those tariffs could go as high as 145%, increasing the cost of US-manufactured aircraft and making them financially unviable, Bloomberg noted.
Boeing had plans to deliver around 10 of its 737 Max aircraft to Chinese carriers such as China Southern Airlines, Air China, and Xiamen Airlines, according to Aviation Flights Group data cited by Bloomberg. In the first quarter of this year, Boeing delivered 130 planes globally, including over 100 of the 737 model, the company announced on April 8.
Former President Trump commented on the situation via Truth Social, claiming that China had “backed out of the big Boeing deal,” and would no longer take delivery of aircraft that had already been agreed upon.
Bloomberg added that for some jets already ordered by Chinese airlines, payment and delivery documentation may have been completed prior to the recent escalation in the trade dispute. If so, those aircraft might still be permitted to enter China despite the new restrictions.
