How China’s C919 aircraft could win big from revived US jet engine exports

China is expected to sustain production of its home-grown aircraft and expand access to foreign skies, following the United States’ removal of a ban on selling American jet engine parts and technology to Chinese buyers.

But analysts cautioned that earlier export restrictions imposed by the Trump administration had a chilling effect – one that could harden Beijing’s resolve to accelerate the development of indigenous engines and other critical components.

Sales resumed last week after a bilateral agreement on export controls was confirmed, Reuters reported. The deal allows Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) to import parts from a GE-invested joint venture.

Access to engines, which China does not yet mass-produce domestically, enables Comac to fulfil hundreds of orders for its narrowbody C919 aircraft at its current pace. Without them, the company would need to seek new foreign suppliers or speed up the development of a home-grown alternative, said Hugh Ritchie, CEO of Aviation Analysts International in Australia.

“Without access to that technology, essentially the US would control parts for Chinese aircraft,” Ritchie said. “It’s pretty important for Comac.”

In May, US officials suspended certain jet engine sales and related technologies, according to American media reports. But no major disruption was reported at Comac’s Shanghai factory, as it remains in the early stages of C919 production.