By Damian BrettDamian Brett22 April 2025
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Boeing 777
China-based airlines have reportedly been told to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing aircraft as part of the ongoing tariff dispute between Beijing and Washington.
Newswire Bloomberg reported last week that China had ordered its airlines to stop receiving Boeing aircraft, while The Wall Street Journal reported on 14 April that China told its carriers to stop ordering new Boeing jets and to receive approval before accepting already ordered aircraft.
However, Air Cargo News’ sister publication FlightGlobal reports that analysts believe too much is at stake for any pause to continue for long, noting the importance of Chinese customers to Boeing and that Chinese airlines badly need Boeing jets and other US-made aerospace goods.
“We believe much of the headline risk with the pause in deliveries is a negotiating tactic, and we would be surprised if the delay were extended, considering the importance of US parts for the Chinese fleet,” RBC Capital Markets financial analyst Ken Herbert said in a 15 April research report.
Chinese airlines require US-made components for their existing Boeing fleets, Herbert added.
Boeing declined to comment about the reported delivery disruption.
“We do see this as unsustainable,” said Bank of America (BofA) Global Research analyst Ron Epstein in a 15 April note. “When considering balances of trade, we think the Trump Administration can’t ignore Boeing. In fact, Boeing [aircraft are] one of the few high-tech manufactured goods that the US exports in large numbers.”
The reported China-delivery pause comes after US president Donald Trump last week slapped more tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to respond in kind. The US is now taxing some Chinese imports at 145%, while China is taxing US products at 125%.
Some analysts think China and Chinese airlines, by refusing to take Boeing jets, will suffer more than the US manufacturer.
“By stopping Boeing deliveries, China does not hurt the US,” said Addison Schonland, co-founder of consultancy AirInsight. “India will take them all, even at a slight discount.”
Damian Brett
Damian has been writing about the freight and logistics industry since 2007 when he joined International Freighting Weekly to cover the shipping sector. After a stint in PR, he went on to work for Containerisation International and Lloyd’s List – where he was editor of container shipping – before joining Air Cargo News in 2015.