The U.S. Has Left China's Flagship Aircraft Carrier Without Engines

• 30.05.2025, 17:14

The PRC's aviation industry is under attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump has banned exports to China of key American jet engine components and technology. This was reported by The New York Times.

The move could seriously affect China's efforts to develop its own aircraft industry.

According to a knowledgeable person, the U.S. Commerce Department has suspended some licenses that allowed U.S. companies to sell products and technology to the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (Comac).

Comac relies on engines made by GE Aerospace for its C919 model aircraft. GE Aerospace produces the CFM International-branded LEAP series engines for the Chinese aircraft in a joint venture with France's Safran SA.

The C919 is China's premier civil aviation project. In fact, it is an entire family of narrow-body medium-haul passenger airplanes. The airplane made its maiden flight in 2017. At least a few dozen of them have been built to date.

According to experts, Comac has accumulated enough engine stocks to produce dozens of aircraft in 2025, potentially avoiding an immediate supply shortage.