Behind Airbus-Boeing truce lies a common rival: China
While the United States and Europe waged a 17-year trade battle over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus, China poured money into its own commercial aircraft to take on the Western aviation duopoly. It took a common threat for the US and Europe to finally put an end to their dispute this past week, as the two sides signed a five-year truce suspending tit-for-tat tariffs. US President Joe Biden made it clear during his visit to Brussels on Tuesday: Washington and Brussels must "work together to challenge and counter China's non-market practices in this sector that give China's companies an unfair advantage". For the past four years, state-run manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has run test flights for its 168-seat, narrow-bodied C919 airplane, a potential rival to Airbus's A320 and Boeing's B737. COMAC expects to obtain airworthiness certification from Chinese air traffic regulators this year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The aircraft received between $49-$72b in state subsidies, much more than the aid that Airbus and Boeing were given by their governments, according to Scott Kennedy, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The very real problem is that China is manipulating the market in playing Airbus and Boeing against each other and demanding technology transfers as a condition for orders," said Richard Aboulafia, aviation expert at Teal Group, a market analysis firm based in Virginia. Boeing believes that the Chinese market will need 9,360 aircraft in the next 20 years, one-fifth of the world total.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-06-21/general/behind-airbus-boeing-truce-lies-a-common-rival-china
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Behind Airbus-Boeing truce lies a common rival: China
While the United States and Europe waged a 17-year trade battle over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus, China poured money into its own commercial aircraft to take on the Western aviation duopoly. It took a common threat for the US and Europe to finally put an end to their dispute this past week, as the two sides signed a five-year truce suspending tit-for-tat tariffs. US President Joe Biden made it clear during his visit to Brussels on Tuesday: Washington and Brussels must "work together to challenge and counter China's non-market practices in this sector that give China's companies an unfair advantage". For the past four years, state-run manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has run test flights for its 168-seat, narrow-bodied C919 airplane, a potential rival to Airbus's A320 and Boeing's B737. COMAC expects to obtain airworthiness certification from Chinese air traffic regulators this year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The aircraft received between $49-$72b in state subsidies, much more than the aid that Airbus and Boeing were given by their governments, according to Scott Kennedy, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The very real problem is that China is manipulating the market in playing Airbus and Boeing against each other and demanding technology transfers as a condition for orders," said Richard Aboulafia, aviation expert at Teal Group, a market analysis firm based in Virginia. Boeing believes that the Chinese market will need 9,360 aircraft in the next 20 years, one-fifth of the world total.<br/>
