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COMAC’s Strategic Inflection: China’s Aerospace Sector Responds to US Pressure
Europe’s aerospace firms become China’s critical partners amid intensifying geopolitical frictions.
China’s equivalent to Boeing and Airbus, COMAC, faces a critical strategic inflection point, driven by intensifying geopolitical tensions and a trade war that the second Trump presidency intentionally added significant accelerant to. While China’s intent to compete with Boeing and Airbus through the C919 narrow body and the upcoming C929 wide body remains clear, the longstanding reliance on American aerospace components poses significant vulnerabilities. China has been following a domestic aerospace manufacturing competency strategy for 15 years, but the Trump trade war with its 145% tariffs on China and tariffs on every other country — except Russia — both multiply the risk and open opportunities.
This strategic assessment is triggered by my recent evaluation of the implications of China’s shutting down of domestic purchases of US passenger planes. My assessment dealt with the long decline of Boeing and its regulatory capture of the FAA, something I’d thought through in print before, but was viewing through the lens of a China attacked by Trump’s tariffs and responding in a multi-faceted way. Another lever China has pulled…
